i 


tihvaxy  oftU  ^heolo0icd  Seminar;)) 

PRINCETON  .  NEW  JERSEY 


FROM  THE  LIBRARY  OF 
ROBERT  ELLIOTT  SPEER 


•a 


BV  4921  .T7  1903  ^ 

Trumbull,  H.  Clay  1830-1903 
How  to  deal  with  doubts  anc 
doubters 


^ 


HOW  TO   DEAL  WITH   DOUBTS 
AND  DOUBTERS 


INDIVIDUAL  WORK 
FOR    INDIVIDUALS 

By  H.  Clay  Trumbull,  D.D. 

ONE  of  the  most  popular  and  helpful  religious 
books  of  the  day.    Has  received  the  high- 
est commendations  from  leading  ministers 
and  laymen  and  from  the  religious  press. 

A  PAPER  EDITION 

has  been  issued  the  lower  price  of  which  permits 
its  wide  distribution  by  Pastors,  Church  Societies 
and  Associations.  Orders  have  been  received  for 
the  book  in  lots  of  from  fifty  to  ten  thousand. 
The  Presbyterian  Evangelistic  Committee  has 
purchased  more  than  thirteen  thousand  copies  of 
the  paper  edition  for  distribution. 

Sixteen  mo,  1 86 pages.    Cloth,  ys  cents; 
paper,  ^5  cents. 


THE   INTERNATIONAL   COMMITTEE  OF 

YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATIONS 

3  West  29th  Street,  New  York 


HOW  TO  DEAL 
WITH  DOUBTS 
AND  DOUBTERS 


)EC    16  l;;m 


ACTUAL  EXPERIENCES 
WITH  TROUBLED  SOULS 


BY 
H.   CLAY    TRUMBULL 

Author  of  "  Individual  Work  for  Individ- 

uais,"  "Illustrative  Answers  to 

Prayer,"  etc. 


NEW  YORK 

THE  INTERNATIONAL  COMMITTEE 

OF  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN 

ASSOCIATIONS 

1903 


Copyright,  1903, 

By  H.  CLAY  TRUMBULL. 

(November.) 


1lntrot)uctor^ 

Any  one  who  is  familiar  with  the  work- 
ings of  the  human  heart  knows  that  more 
persons  are  ready  to  question  or  doubt 
than  to  rest  and  trust.  And  it  is  ever 
easier  to  strengthen  the  faith  of  one  who 
enjoys  firm  confidence  in  God  and  in  the 
eternal  verities  of  the  universe,  than  it  is  to 
remove  the  ever-changing  doubts  in  a  mind 
which  gives  way  to  them.  Hence  practical 
suggestions  as  to  wise  ways  of  dealing 
with  doubts  and  doubters  are  likely  to  be 
helpful  to  one  who  would  serve  God  and 
help  perplexed  souls. 

The  following  series  of  doubts  expressed 
and  doubts  met  is  a  result  of  actual  experi- 
ences in  heart-to-heart  struggles  in  real 
life.  While  each  chapter  is  not  the  literal 
record  of  a  single  doubter's  words  during 
a  discussion  with  the  narrator,  all  that  is 
recorded  of  incident  or  of  utterance  is 
veritable  fact.  In  some  instances  the  sub- 
stance of  several  conversations  is  condensed 
into  one  ;  and  in  some  cases  similar  doubts 

V 


InttoDuctors 

by  different  doubters  are  here  given  as  if 
they  were  the  doubts  of  a  single  doubter. 
But  all  the  doubts  were  actually  expressed 
by  a  doubter  to  the  narrator,  and  were  met 
by  him  in  the  line  of  thought  now  re- 
corded. The  result  was  in  every  case  as 
here  mentioned. 

This  by  no  means  covers  all  the  instances 
of  perplexity  in  doubt  in  the  narrator's  per- 
sonal experience.  It  is  simply  a  series  of 
actual  experiences  in  dealing  with  doubts 
and  doubters,  where  help  was  given  by 
the  methods  here  stated.  If  the  methods 
given  as  successful  should,  by  God's  bless- 
ing, prove  suggestive  to  other  workers  in 
similar  fields,  it  will  be  an  added  cause  of 
gratitude  to 

H.  CLAY  TRUMBULL. 


Philadelphia,  September  ii,  igoj. 


w 


Contents 
I 

Considering     Doubts     Rather    Than 

Beliefs 3 

II 

Seeking     Help    Inside    of    Self,    not 

Outside 11 

III 

Not  Ready  to  Give  Up  One's  Will  .     .     21 

IV 

Waiting  to  be  Good  Enough  to  Join 

the  Church 29 

V 

Waiting    for    Something     Inside     to 

"Break" 35 

VI 

Facing  "the  Unpardonable  Sin"      .     .     43 

VII 

Waiting  for  More  Faith 51 

vii 


Contents 

VIII 
Troubled     Because     Enjoying     God's 

Service 6i 

IX 

Considering   Our   Desires,    Instead   of 

God's  Love 70 

X 

Is  Lack  of  Right  Feeling  a   Barrier 

TO  Right  Action  ? 83 

XI 

Troubled   Because  Finding  No  Enjoy- 
ment IN  Prayer 90 

XII 
Unable  to  Believe  in  Miracles    ...     99 

XIII 
Not    Believing    in    Any     Spiritual 

Existence iii 

XIV 
Inconsistency  of  Christian  Doubters    .   123 


Vlll 


HOW  TO   DEAL  WITH   DOUBTS 
AND  DOUBTERS 


Const^ertnG  2)oubt5  IRatbet 
Uban  3Beltef0 

A  man  has  more  power  through  believ- 
ing one  thing  than  in  disbelieving  ten  thou- 
sand things.  It  is  a  man's  duty  to  disbelieve, 
or  to  doubt,  at  a  proper  time,  when  the  mat- 
ter has  been  well  considered ;  but  no  man 
is  capable  of  disbelieving,  or  of  doubting, 
intelligently  and  sensibly,  unless  he  first 
has  strong  and  positive  beliefs.  A  man's 
real  power  either  to  do  or  to  doubt  starts 
from  his  beliefs,  and  if  a  man  gives  atten- 
tion to  what  he  does  not  believe,  rather 
than  to  what  he  does  believe,  he  makes  no 
progress,  and  he  lacks  practical  power  in 
any  direction. 

Governor  Andrew,  of  Massachusetts, 
who  was  a  man  of  tremendous  convictions, 
and  who  made  thousands  believe  as  he  be- 
lieved because  he  had   those  convictions, 

3 


Mow  to  2)eal  wltb  5)oubt0 

said,  just  before  the  opening  of  the  Civil 
War,  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  "  I'm  glad 
we've  got  a  man  now  who  believes  some- 
thing." And  that  was  good  ground  for 
our  hope  in  those  days,  as  it  is  in  any  day. 
Yet  to-day,  on  every  side,  there  are  young 
men  and  older  men  who  think  little  about 
their  beliefs,  or  about  their  convictions  if 
they  have  any,  and  much  of  their  disbeliefs 
and  doubts  and  questionings. 

Such  persons  are  not  always  proud  that 
they  are  so  ready  to  doubt  and  to  ques- 
tion ;  sometimes  they  regret  the  tendency 
of  their  minds  to  work  in  this  direction, 
but  it  seems  to  them  that  they  are  helpless 
through  the  constitution  and  nature  of  their 
very  being.  Many  of  these  persons  feel  the 
need  of  help,  and  sometimes  ask  it  from 
others.  What  can  be  done  for  these  per- 
sistent doubters  ?  How  can  those  who  dis- 
believe and  question  continually,  concerning 
matters  about  which  they  would  fain  be  at 
rest  in  their  minds,  be  helped  to  a  wise  deal- 
ing with  their  mental  and  spiritual  troubles  ? 

4 


Considering  2)oubts  IRatber  tban  JBeliefs 

Very  often  one's  best  way  of  dealing 
with  one's  doubts  is  by  letting  them  alone, 
and  refusing  to  consider  them  just  now.  I 
heard  Dr.  Bushnell,  in  giving  the  charge  to 
a  keen-minded  young  pastor,  say  on  this 
point:  "If  you  have  doubts  that  trouble 
you  very  much,  do  not  try  to  solve  them  at 
once.  Hang  them  up  in  your  study  for  a 
while,  and  attend  to  things  that  you  have 
no  doubt  about.  By  and  by,  when  you 
have  leisure,  and  feel  so  inclined,  take  your 
doubts  down.  Very  likely  you  will  find, 
when  you  attempt  to  examine  them  anew, 
that  they  have  settled  themselves."  There 
was  a  world  of  wisdom  in  that  bit  of  advice 
by  Dr.  Bushnell. 

One  who  had  been  brought  up  in  com- 
parative strictness  of  belief  reached  a  time 
when  she  began  to  question  the  truth  of 
one  doctrine  and  another  that  in  her  early 
life  she  had  accepted  as  correct  because 
others  to  whom  she  looked  up  said  so. 
Dwelling  on  her  new  disbeliefs,  she  came 
to  be  practically  controlled  by  them.     In 

5 


IKow  to  Deal  witb  Doubts 

her  troubles  of  mind,  she  was  telling  me 
one  day  of  certain  views  of  truth  that  she 
could  not  now  believe.  At  this  I  said  to 
her :  "  You  say  a  good  deal  of  what  you 
do  not  believe ;  why  don't  you  say  some- 
thing of  what  you  do  believe,  however 
little  that  is?"  That  was  a  fresh  thought 
to  her.  She  took  it  home,  and  acted  on 
it.  It  proved  a  turning-point  in  her  life. 
She  began  to  consider  what  she  did  be- 
lieve, and  to  find  comfort  in  the  thought 
of  this.  Her  disbelief  vanished  out  of 
sight,  as  the  darkness  in  a  room  vanishes 
when  a  window  is  opened  to  the  light. 
She  came  to  find  pleasure  in  leading  others 
to  see  and  know  the  truth,  and  she  often 
told  me  afterwards  that  her  new  start  was 
taken  when  she  began  to  think  of  what  she 
did  believe,  instead  of  what  she  did  not. 
In  this  she  simply  illustrated  a  truth  that 
is  always  worth  considering  by  one  who 
would  help,  or  be  helped,  in  the  perplexity 
of  doubting. 

A  young  man  who  had  been  for  years 
6 


Con0it)ering  BoulJts  IRatbct  tban  :©elief0 

active  in  Christian  work  and  study,  and 
whose  desire  and  purpose  were  to  be  in  the 
ministry,  came  to  me  at  one  time  in  North- 
field  and  told  me  his  story,  asking  if  there 
could  be  any  cure  in  his  case.  He  said  that 
he  had  wrestled  first  with  one  doubt,  and 
then  with  another,  but  his  doubts  had  grown 
faster  than  his  wrestlings,  and  he  had  lost 
ground  steadily,  until  at  last  he  had  nothing 
left  to  be  sure  of  except  that  there  is  a  God. 
He  positively  was  not  sure  of  any  truth  in 
the  Bible  or  Christianity  except  just  that. 

At  this  I  seemed  not  at  all  surprised,  but 
simply  asked :  "  What  do  you  think  of 
murder  as  a  regular  business?" 

"I  don't  understand  your  question,"  said 
the  young  man. 

"  Why,  the  Bible  teaches  that  murder  is 
wrong.  I  want  to  know  what  you  think  of 
murder  as  a  business,  apart  from  the  ques- 
tion of  the  statute  law  on  the  subject." 

"I  have  no  doubt  about  the  moral  law 
laid  down  in  the  Bible,"  was  the  response 
of  the  young  man. 

7 


Mow  to  2)eal  wftb  BouWs 

"  Then  there's  one  thing  in  the  Bible  that 
you  believe,  outside  of  the  truth  that  there 
is  a  God." 

Then  I  went  on  to  ask  one  question  after 
another  as  to  some  point  of  duty  enjoined, 
or  wrong  act  forbidden,  in  the  Bible,  to 
every  one  of  which  the  young  man  said 
frankly  that  he  had  no  doubt  as  to  that 
point.  He  believed  that  the  Bible  teach- 
ings were  to  be  believed  so  far. 

"  Do  not  think,  my  friend,  from  my  un- 
expected questions,  that  I  lack  sympathy 
with  you  in  your  troubles  of  mind,"  I  said 
to  the  young  man;  "but  you  told  me,  to 
begin  with,  that  you  had  no  sure  belief  ex- 
cept that  there  is  a  God,  and  now  at  my 
questions  you  have  told  me  that  you  have 
a  firm  belief  as  to  a  good  many  other 
things.  Now  I  want  to  interrupt  this  con- 
versation just  here  for  twenty-four  hours. 
Go  to  your  room,  and  take  up  the  Bible. 
Turn  over  its  pages,  and  when  you  see  a 
statement  that  you  believe,  make  a  note  of 
it.     If  you  find  anything  that  you  do  not 

8 


Considering  2)oul)ta  IRatber  tban  ^Beliefs 

believe,  or  that  you  doubt,  pass  it  by, — pay 
no  attention  to  that  for  now.  I  want  you 
to  look  for  things  in  the  Bible  that  you  be- 
lieve, and  to  count  them  up  as  a  whole 
when  you  have  done  with  the  examination. 
Keep  your  mind  entirely  on  what  you  are 
sure  of,  and  then  see,  when  you  are  through 
with  the  search,  whether  it  really  amounts 
to  anything  worth  holding  on  to.  Come 
back  to-morrow,  and  tell  me  the  result  of 
your  search." 

The  next  day  I  watched  for  the  young 
man,  but  he  did  not  call.  The  day  follow- 
ing, I  met  him  on  the  street,  and  asked 
him  why  he  had  not  returned  to  continue 
the  conversation.  There  was  a  new  look 
on  his  face  as  he  replied : 

"  I  went  home  that  night,  and  began  to 
look  in  the  Bible  for  things  that  I  believe. 
I  found  more  of  them  than  I  thought  for. 
I  kept  finding  them.  As  you  requested,  I 
didn't  stop  to  consider  anything  that  I  had 
a  doubt  about,  so  that  I  don't  know  from 
this  search  what  there  is  in  that  line ;  but  I 

9 


Mow  to  Deal  witb  Boubts 

find  so  much  that  I  do  beHeve  that  I've 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  I  beHeve  pretty 
much  everything  now." 

And  there  was  one  more  soul  made 
newly  glad,  changed  from  gloom  to  cheer, 
from  doubt  to  confidence,  through  God's 
blessing,  by  his  simply  looking  at  what 
can  be  believed,  instead  of  what  may  have 
been  doubted.  That  is  the  way  for  such  a 
doubter  to  deal  with  his  troubles  of  mind. 
If  one  would  give  help  to  a  doubting 
Christian  of  this  sort,  let  him  bear  this 
in  mind. 


lO 


II 

BccMm  Melp  Unsl^e  of  Self, 
not  ©utstbe 

It  really  is  strange  how  many  seek  relief 
from  their  doubts,  and  help  in  their  mental 
and  spiritual  unrest,  by  looking  within  in- 
stead of  looking  without.  It  would  seem 
as  if  some  actually  expected  to  find  a 
Saviour,  or  at  all  events  to  find  evidences 
of  their  salvation,  by  an  examination  of 
their  inner  state  of  mind  and  being,  and  in 
the  play  of  their  personal  feelings.  This 
foolish  custom  was  far  more  common  a 
century  ago  than  it  is  to-day;  yet  there 
are  still  many  who  do  themselves  harm, 
while  they  get  absolutely  no  good,  by  in- 
dulging in  this  pernicious  and  unscriptural 
endeavor. 

In  my  own  case,  I  suffered  much  by  such 
hopeless  and  injurious  efforts  to  gain  some 
evidence   from   my  emotions  or   my  con- 

II 


How  to  Deal  witb  Boubts 

scious  course  of  conduct,  that  I  was  truly 
a  child  of  God,  and  might  trust  as  such. 
The  more  I  studied  myself,  the  more  I  was 
dissatisfied  with  myself  Again  and  again 
I  heard  it  said,  or  I  read  the  statement  in 
books  of  religious  counsel,  that  the  way  to 
be  rid  of  doubts  about  one's  spiritual  con- 
dition was  to  be  actively  at  work  for  Christ. 
Yet  I  knew  that  that  was  no  prescription 
for  my  case.  I  was  engaged  in  specific 
Christian  work  seven  days  in  the  week, 
and  the  more  I  did  of  such  work  the  less 
spiritual  comfort  I  had.  I  was  a  constant 
sufferer  in  my  habit  of  searching  my  in- 
most being  for  evidences  of  my  Christian 
fidelity  that  were  not  to  be  found  there. 

Some  told  me  that  I  should  carefully 
examine  myself,  and  decide  what  I  would 
do  in  a  test  case,  as  showing  whether  I 
was  a  child  of  God,  or  one  of  God's  ene- 
mies. This  experiment  I  tried  again  and 
again,  but  I  had  to  admit  to  myself  that  I 
was  really  seeking  personal  comfort  or  gain 
in  this  effort,  and  not  putting  God's  glory 

12 


Seching  IKelp  UneiDe  of  Self,  not  ©utsiDc 

foremost,  regardless  of  my  feelings  or  in- 
terest. I  really  gained  nothing,  while  I  lost 
strength  and  rest  and  peace,  in  my  desire 
to  find  a  hope  of  salvation  within  myself. 
As  the  years  passed  on  in  this  mistaken 
and  useless  search,  I  had  less  and  less  en- 
joyment in  Christian  activities,  in  which  I 
still  persevered,  and  I  suffered  more  and 
more  keenly  in  my  self-reproaches  because 
of  my  lack  of  hope  and  of  spiritual  repose. 

This  was  after  years  of  Christian  work 
in  my  army  chaplaincy  and  in  my  Sunday- 
school  missionary  work.  In  a  sense,  the 
more  I  did  the  worse  I  felt  My  ex- 
haustion in  and  through  my  well-doing 
incapacitated  me  for  calm  and  sensible 
self-examination.  Often,  after  several  ser- 
vices on  the  Lord's  Day,  I  have  actually 
agonized  for  hours  on  my  room  floor, 
vainly  seeking  spiritual  rest  by  means  of 
internal  evidence  that  I  was  a  child  of  God. 

One  day  I  said  despondently  to  a  ma- 
ture Christian  believer,  whom  I  had  known 
from  boyhood : 

13 


Mow  to  2)cal  witb  2)oubts 

"I  wish  I  could  have  some  rest  in  my 
Christian  faith." 

"  Why  shouldn't  you  have  ?  You  know 
that  you  are  a  Christian,  and  that  Christ 
takes  care  of  you  all  the  time,  and  for 
all  time,"  said  my  friend. 

"  No,  I  don't  know  that  I  am  a  Chris- 
tian," I  replied,  "  and  that's  the  trouble." 

"  You  know  that  you  want  to  be  a  Chris- 
tian, and  that  if  the  choice  were  left  to  you, 
and  you  understood  it,  you'd  decide  for 
Christ's  service." 

*'  No,  I  can't  say  that  I  do  know  that," 
I  replied,  despondently. 

My  friend,  seeing  my  real  condition, 
caught  hold  of  me,  and  said  sharply : 

"  Stop  that  analyzing  of  your  insides, 
and  look  up.  Turn  away  from  yourself, 
and  look  at  your  Saviour." 

That  blunt  putting  of  the  truth  was  a 
turning-point  in  my  mind  and  in  my  spirit- 
ual life.  I  had  long  enough  sought  help 
inside  without  gaining  it.  Now  I  looked 
up  where  it  could  be  found,  and  my  being 

H 


SecWna  IHclp  tn6it>c  of  Self,  not  ©utslDc 

was  at  rest.  From  that  day  on  to  the 
present  I  could  never  be  induced  to  ex- 
amine myself  for  evidences  of  salvation. 
I  have  looked  up  for  help,  and  I  have 
urged  others  to  do  likewise. 

One  day  there  came  to  me  a  student, 
brought  up  under  Christian  influences,  and 
said  to  me : 

"  I  am  troubled  all  the  time  because  I 
can't  be  sure  that  I'm  a  Christian." 

Perceiving  his  condition  of  mind,  I  re- 
sponded : 

"  Why  should  you  be  a  Christian  ?  " 

"  Why  should  I  be  a  Christian  ?  I  don't 
know  what  you  mean  by  such  a  question." 

"  Is  there  any  command  in  the  Bible  for 
you  to  be  a  Christian  ?  I  don't  remember 
any  such.  Is  there  any  promise  of  salva- 
tion to  Christians  ?  Are  you  sure  that  you 
could  be  saved  if  you  were  a  Christian  ?  " 

"  You  bewilder  me,"  said  the  doubter. 

"  I  want  you,  my  friend,  to  look  squarely 
at  the  important  matter  you  came  here  to 

15 


Wow  to  Deal  witb  DouDte 

talk  about.  Whom  did  Jesus  Christ  come 
into  this  world  to  save  ?  "  . 

"  Sinners." 

"  Are  you  a  sinner  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  came  out  heartily, "  I've  no  doubt 
about  that." 

"You  are  not  deceiving  yourself  now 
with  a  false  hope,  my  friend  ?  " 

"  I  think  not,"  and  a  feeble  smile  played 
over  the  doubter's  face.  "  I  think  I  can 
feel  sure  on  that  point,  whatever  other 
doubt  I  have." 

"  Well,  now,  my  friend,  you  see  for  your- 
self how  the  case  stands.  Jesus  Christ  came 
into  this  world  to  save  sinners.  You  are 
one  of  that  sort ;  Pm  another.  You  say 
that  you  can't  satisfy  yourself  that  you  are 
a  Christian.  I  was  in  the  same  fix  for  years. 
But  you  do  know  that  you  are  a  sinner.  / 
also  felt  sure  on  that  point.  So  I  came  as 
a  sinner  to  trust  Christ  as  a  Saviour.  I  ad- 
vise you  to  do  the  same,  leaving  out  of 
mind  for  a  century  or  so  the  matter  of  be- 
ing sure  of  being  a  Christian.     Let  us  trust 

i6 


Seeking  Melp  Unsi^e  ot  Self,  not  ©utsiOe 

the  Saviour  of  sinners  as  our  Saviour,  and 
let  us  find  joy  in  working  for  him." 

And  another  troubled  doubter  became 
a  cheerful,  trustful,  saved  sinner,  by  being 
helped  to  look  outside  of  himself,  instead  of 
inside.  He  was  for  years  active  in  leading 
others,  in  the  home  field  and  in  the  foreign 
field,  to  trust  the  Saviour  of  sinners  as  their 
Saviour. 

Christ  is  above  us ;  let  us  look  to  him. 
That  is  the  direction  in  which  to  look,  in 
order  to  get  rest  and  peace.  It  is  so  for 
those  who  are  troubled  with  doubts.  It  is 
so  for  those  who  are  ready  to  trust.  This 
is  a  thought  for  all  who  would  give  help 
to  such  doubters,  and  who  would  lead  to 
rest  and  peace  troubled  and  anxious  souls. 

It  is  so  with  all  who  are  looking  within 
for  evidences  of  their  acceptance  with 
Christ.  Christ,  not  the  sinner,  is  the  evi- 
dence. One  who  has  once  learned  this 
lesson  is  not  willing  again  to  leave  the  sure 
reality  for  any  fancied  substitute.    One  who 

17 


IHow  to  2)eal  witb  2)oubt0 

was  mistakenly  trying  to  induce  doubters 
to  be  satisfied  as  to  their  condition  by  self- 
examination  told,  in  my  hearing,  the  follow- 
ing illustration  used  by  Theodore  Monod, 
of  Geneva,  that  the  speaker  thought  might 
help  another. 

"You  find  in  your  heart  evils,  defects, 
imperfections,  and  you  feel  that  that  heart 
is  not  worthy  of  being  counted  precious  by 
Jesus  Christ.  But  even  a  diamond,  when 
it  is  first  taken  by  the  lapidary,  is  often 
rough  and  soiled  and  hidden  from  sight  by 
foul  accumulations;  yet  it  is  a  diamond, 
nevertheless.  Then  the  lapidary  cleanses 
and  cuts  and  finishes  the  rough  diamond, 
and  makes  it  fit  to  be  set  in  the  crown  of 
a  sovereign.  Thus  with  your  rough  and 
defiled  and  uncut  jewel  of  a  soul.  It  is  a 
diamond,  and  it  is  to  shine  in  the  diadem 
of  the  King  of  kings.     Be  sure  of  that." 

As  I  had  suffered  for  years  in  looking 
inside  for  evidences  of  salvation,  or  of  my 
worthiness,  I  responded  heartily  to  this 
illustration : 

i8 


SceWns  Mclp  UnsiDc  ot  Selt,  not  ©utsiDe 

"  I've  all  confidence  in  the  Lapidary,  but 
no  confidence  in  the  uncut  stone,  so  far  as 
my  case  is  concerned.  I  never  found  any 
rough  diamond  inside  of  me.  But  I  am 
told  that,  chemically,  charcoal  and  the  dia- 
mond dust  have  much  in  common.  Now, 
when  I  look  inside  of  myself,  I  see  the  char- 
coal. So  I  say  to  the  great  Lapidary :  *  I 
bring  you  this  charcoal,  and  I  trust  you  to 
transmute  it,  by  your  almighty  power,  into 
a  diamond.  Then,  in  infinite  love,  place 
that  diamond  in  your  diadem,  and  to  thee 
be  all  the  glory.'  " 

When  I  said  this,  a  fellow-believer  who 
had  been  troubled  with  doubts  as  to  his 
spiritual  condition  through  his  habit  of 
looking  inside  for  grounds  of  hope,  instead 
of  looking  above  for  assurance  of  a  Saviour, 
seemed  touched  by  this  view  of  the  ground 
of  hope,  which  was  fresh  to  him.  Speaking 
out  heartily  and  with  new  hope,  he  said : 

"  I  can  find  charcoal  inside  of  me  every 
time.  There's  no  lack  of  that  comfort 
for  me." 

19 


Wow  to  Deal  witb  Doubts 

And  he  turned  his  thought  from  the 
material  to  be  transmuted  to  the  all-power- 
ful Lapidary.  I  then  realized  afresh  that 
the  way  for  a  sinner  to  find  hope  is  by 
looking  up  to  the  Saviour  of  such  sinners 
as  himself  Is  there  any  better  way  than 
this  to  deal  with  doubts  on  such  a  point? 


20 


Ill 
Mot  1Rea^^  to  Give  TUp  One's  XPdltU 

A  friend  called  on  me  one  day,  desiring 
to  secure  my  aid  in  reaching  spiritually  a 
man  whose  condition  seemed  sadly  in- 
volved, if  not,  indeed,  desperate.  The  man 
in  behalf  of  whom  counsel  and  help  were 
sought  had  been  prominent  and  efficient  in 
a  large  and  prosperous  business  enterprise ; 
but  he  had,  by  failing  health,  been  for  some 
time  confined  to  his  home.  While  thus  shut 
in,  his  business,  of  which  he  was  chief  man- 
ager, had  become  hopelessly  involved,  and 
bankruptcy  stared  him  in  the  face.  Mean- 
time his  physician  informed  the  man's  wife, 
although  not  communicating  the  fact  to 
him,  that  he  was  not  likely  to  recover  from 
his  present  illness.  In  heaviness  of  heart, 
she  had  sent  the  mutual  friend  to  implore 
my  effort  to  bring  her  husband  nearer  to 
her  Saviour.     While  upright  in  character 

21 


Kow  to  Deal  witb  5)oubt0 

and  reverent  in  spirit,  the  sick  man  was 
averse  to  conversation  on  the  subject  of 
personal  religion,  and  even  in  his  illness 
had  declined  to  have  his  wife  send  for  a 
clergyman. 

Although  I  had  well  known  the  man  in 
former  years  in  another  place,  I  had  never 
visited  him  in  his  present  home,  and  it 
would  be  a  delicate  matter  to  make  the 
first  visit  for  the  avowed  purpose  of  reach- 
ing spiritually  one  in  such  trouble.  Yet 
the  request  was  an  earnest  one,  and  I  could 
not  refuse  to  respond  to  it.  Imploring 
God  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  interview, 
and  to  guide  in  it,  I  called  at  the  sick  man's 
house  one  Sunday  afternoon.  By  God's 
ordering  I  could  not  see  him  then,  as  he 
was  asleep  when  I  called.  So,  seeing  his 
wife,  I  left  an  old  friend's  love  for  her  hus- 
band, and  came  away. 

On  learning  of  this  call  when  he  awoke, 
the  man  regretted  his  failure  to  see  his  old 
friend,  and  sent  word  desiring  me  to  call 
again.     On  my  second  call,  I  had  the  ad- 

22 


Hot  1Rea&i2  to  (5ive  TIlp  ©nc'g  'QCliU 

vantage  of  coming  at  the  sick  man's  re- 
quest, and  the  interview  was  a  natural  and 
free  one.  The  man  told  of  his  misfortunes 
and  regrets.  As  he  spoke,  I  said  naturally 
that  he  certainly  needed  in  his  troubles, 
and  I  hoped  he  could  have,  his  Saviour's 
sustaining  presence.  At  this  he  spoke 
with  some  bitterness  of  his  hopeless  help- 
lessness, and  he  then  indicated  his  realest 
source  of  doubts.  He  was  a  man  of  diminu- 
tive appearance,  but  of  intensest  energy  and 
enterprise.  Unaided,  he  had  fought  his 
way  up  to  success,  in  spite  of  many  diffi- 
culties and  obstacles. 

"  I  know  what  you  would  say  to  me," 
he  said.  "All  I  have  got  to  do  is  to  give 
up  my  own  will,  and  trust  myself  to  the 
Saviour  to  take  care  of  me.  '  Give  up  my 
will  ? '  But  all  there  is  of  me  is  will.  I 
started  life  a  poor,  sick  boy,  with  nothing 
but  will.  My  will  kept  me  alive.  By  my 
will,  I  worked  my  way  to  success.  By  my 
will,  I  built  up  a  great  business,  and  had 
prosperity  and  a  good  home.     By  my  will, 

23 


Wow  to  I>eal  witb  Boubts 

I  supported  my  parents,  and  helped  others 
to  do  well.  But  sickness  came,  and,  while 
sick,  my  business  broke  down,  and  all  I 
have  in  the  world  is  likely  to  be  swept 
away.  Everything  is  gone  but  my  will. 
And  now  you  ask  me  to  give  up  that. 
You  don't  know  what  it  is  you  would  be 
counseling.  Everything  else  but  my  will 
is  gone,  and  now  you  ask  me  to  give  up 
that.  What  would  be  left  of  me  if  that 
were  gone  ?  " 

"  But  I  have  not  advised  you  to  give  up 
your  will,"  I  replied.  "You  need  a  stronger 
will,  not  an  abandonment  of  all  that  now 
remains  of  you.  Your  own  will,  strong  as 
it  is,  with  its  present  hold,  could  not  keep 
you  from  sickness,  could  not  continue  suc- 
cess to  you  in  your  business.  You  need 
more  will,  not  less.  Wouldn't  a  touch  of 
Omnipotence  help  you,  in  your  present 
state?  I  think  that  if  you,  with  your 
strong  will,  will  lay  hold  on  One  who  is 
all-powerful,  and  who  can  do  even  those 
things  which  you  confess  you  are  unable 

24 


inot  1RcaDi3  to  <5ivc  "dp  ©ne's  lIDliU 

to  do  even  when  you  long  to  do  them, 
you  will  be  using  your  will  in  the  right 
direction,  and  will  have  more  will  and  a 
better  will  than  ever." 

This  was  to  him  a  new  way  of  looking 
at  will.  He  who  had  ever  wanted  to  use 
his  will  aright,  in  response  to  the  question 
whether  he  would  like  me  to  pray  with 
him  that  he  could  lay  hold  with  a  strong 
grip  on  the  AU-Sufficient  Will,  said  that 
he  most  surely  would.  And  as  I  kneeled, 
on  that  first  visit  in  that  sick-chamber,  and 
prayed  with  and  for  that  sick  man,  who 
had  no  idea  of  his  wasting  illness,  I  was 
sure  that  my  old  friend  was  finding  joy  in 
the  thought  that  his  will  could,  in  Christ, 
keep  him  through  all  trial  and  sorrow, 
through  life  and  through  death,  giving  him 
final  success  in  God's  way.  And  from  that 
hour  it  was  apparent  that  he  was  grateful 
that  God  had  chosen  this  way  to  lead  him 
to  a  right  understanding  of  the  gain  of  a 
strong  will  properly  directed. 

The  following  months,  when  I  went 
25 


Mow  to  2)eal  wltb  Doubts 

every  few  days  to  cheer  that  new  believer's 
heart  and  to  strengthen  my  own  grateful 
faith  by  Christian  counsel  with  that  glad 
saint  as  he  was  ripening  for  glory,  I  found 
that  talk  about  his  will  had  given  place  to 
loving  words  about  his  Saviour.  Rarely  is 
one  to  be  met  who  has  fuller  joy  and  peace 
in  Christ  than  had  this  man  who  had 
feared  the  barrier  of  his  determined  will. 
He  had  long  lived  a  life  of  purity  in  duty- 
doing  in  God's  service,  but  he  had  been  mis- 
taught  as  to  what  was  required  of  him  if  he 
would  be  one  with  Christ.  He  had  con- 
founded his  determined  purpose  in  what- 
ever he  had  to  do,  with  wrong  self-seeking. 
When  he  saw  the  light,  he  turned  to  it,  and 
rejoiced  in  it.  He  seemed  to  have  forgotten 
that  he  had  any  troubles. 

He  spoke  only  of  the  bright  side  of  his 
present  or  his  future.  When  he  realized 
that  he  had  not  long  to  live,  he  was  ready 
to  see  better  things  in  prospect  than  he  had 
ever  ventured  to  hope  for.  His  grateful 
and   glad-hearted   wife    found    cheer   and 

26 


Klot  IRcaDs  to  (5ive  TUp  ®nc'6  Idill 

gave  him  cheer  as  they  communed  to- 
gether of  their  Saviour's  love  and  constant 
presence.  Each  day  seemed  brighter  than 
any  that  had  gone  before.  As  to  his  will, 
he  did  not  have  to  give  it  up,  but  only  to 
Hft  it  up. 

Fresh  trials  came  to  him  as  he  lay  help- 
less in  that  invalid-chamber,  which  proved 
to  be  his  death-chamber;  but  he  had  now 
strength  and  faith  to  bear  them  all.  His 
aged  mother,  whom  he  had  for  years  sup- 
ported, was  stricken  with  a  fatal  disease. 
The  knowledge  of  this  was  kept  from  him, 
lest  he  should  be  unable  to  bear  it.  But 
when  she  was  dead,  they  were  compelled 
to  tell  him  of  it.  He  received  the  intelli- 
gence with  joyous  faith.  He  said  pleas- 
antly : 

"  It  will  not  be  long  before  we  shall  be 
together  again." 

It  was  evident  that  life  with  Christ  was 
already  more  real  and  precious  to  him  than 
this  earthly  life.  His  will  was  still  un- 
broken, but  it  was  now  wisely  directed. 

27 


IHow  to  H)eal  wttb  Boubts 

And  when  at  last  he  bade  me  farewell  as 
he  entered  peacefully  into  rest,  he  seemed 
glad  of  the  lesson  he  had  freshly  learned, 
that  one  who  wants  to  do  his  duty  needs 
not  to  have  less  will,  or  determination,  but 
to  have  his  strongest  will,  or  purpose, 
rightly  directed  toward  his  loving  and  all- 
sufficient  Saviour.  Thus  directed,  the 
more  will  a  man  has,  the  better  it  is  for 
him  in  God's  service. 


28 


IV 

matttuG  to  be  Goo&  Bnougb  to 
5otn  tbe  (Tburcb 

Among  the  mistaken  ideas  in  the  com- 
munity as  to  the  significance  of  the  act  of 
connecting  one's  self  with  a  Christian 
church,  is  the  thought  that  it  indicates  that 
one  has  made  progress  in  character  and  well 
doing,  and  desires  to  testify  to  that  fact 
before  his  fellows.  Underneath  this  error 
there  is,  of  course,  a  mistaken  view  of  the 
nature  and  object  of  the  church  itself,  but 
how  to  correct  this  mistaken  view  must  be 
decided  differently  in  different  cases. 

When  I  had  for  some  time  been  absent 
from  my  old  home,  I  found,  on  returning 
to  it,  that  a  near  neighbor  of  mine  had  just 
connected  himself  with  the  church.  Glad 
to  learn  this  fact,  I  went  to  that  neighbor, 
and  said  to  him  heartily : 

"  I'm  very  glad  to  know  that  you  have 
29 


Wow  to  Deal  wltb  Doubts 

taken  the  step  of  connecting  yourself  with 
the  church,  and  I  want  to  congratulate  you 
on  it." 

To  my  surprise  the  new  communicant 
said,  with  a  show  of  modesty,  and  yet  with 
a  somewhat  confident  air : 

"Well,  I  thought  the  matter  over  for 
some  time  before  taking  that  step.  I 
know  I'm  not  so  good  as  I  might  be,  but 
I'm  better  than  the  average,  so  I  decided 
to  join  the  church." 

At  this  I  thought  it  not  best  to  say  any- 
thing more  in  the  line  of  congratulation. 
Nor  did  I  think  that  the  church  was  to  be 
particularly  congratulated  on  its  new  mem- 
ber. Later  on  I  found  that  other  men  than 
that  neighbor  had  that  standard  of  fitness 
for  church-membership.  Some  are  modest 
in  their  doubting,  honestly  thinking  them- 
selves unworthy  to  be  counted  with  the 
Christian  host.  Others  desire  to  live  as 
well  as  they  can  outside  of  the  church  fold 
without  being  judged  by  church  standards 
of  conduct.    Yet  others  again,  like  the  per- 

30 


'QClaitin^  to  be  (3ooD  Bnou^b 

son  instanced,  have  only  a  doubt  as  to  their 
relative  goodness,  and  settle  it  by  them- 
selves in  a  self-confident  mood. 

A  church-goer,  who  desired  to  be  right 
and  to  do  right,  when  urged  to  connect 
himself  with  the  church,  expressed  the  fear 
that  he  was  not  good  enough.  This  seem- 
ingly was  his  sincere  feeling.  For  years  he 
waited  outside  in  the  hope  that  he  would 
grow  better.  Appeals  from  his  friends  for 
another  course  were  of  no  avail.  Then  he 
was  taken  seriously  ill,  and  he  was  brought 
to  face  death.  As  he  prayed  for  recovery, 
and  as  he  was  prayed  for,  he  seemed  to 
have  a  different  view  of  Christ ;  and  when 
he  was  restored  to  health,  he  was  glad  to 
think  of  his  Saviour  as  one  to  whom  he 
ought  to  show  gratitude.  When  his  pastor 
urged  him  to  come  into  the  church,  as  one 
who  desired  to  evidence  his  thankfulness 
and  trust,  he  came  forward  as  a  loving, 
trusting  follower  of  Christ.  It  were  better 
to  come  just  as  he  was,  he  thought,  than  to 
wait  outside  indefinitely  to  grow  better. 

31 


Wow  to  2)cal  witb  Doubts 

A  man  of  upright  walk  in  life  persistently 
refrained  from  connecting  himself  with  the 
church,  claiming  that  he  loved  and  trusted 
Christ  as  his  Saviour,  and  that  he  would 
•^how  to  the  world  that  he  was  doing  this 
without  being  a  member  of  any  church. 
At  this  I  said  to  him : 

"  Do  you  expect  Christ  to  save  you  ?  " 

"  Assuredly  I  do." 

"  Yet  you  persist  in  refusing  to  confess 
Christ  before  men,  as  he  has  particularly 
enjoined  it  upon  you  to  do.  Is  that  fair  ? 
Jesus  says,  *  Every  one  therefore  who  shall 
confess  me  before  men,  him  will  I  also  con- 
fess before  my  Father  who  is  in  heaven.' 
Yet  you  say  that  you  are  not  willing  to  be 
with  those  who  confess  Christ  before  men." 

"  Oh !  I  am  ready  to  be  known  as  a 
lover  of  Christ,  but  I  don't  want  to  be  in 
the  church  where  men  claim  to  be  better 
than  other  men.  I  will  try  to  be  as  good 
as  they  are  without  saying  so." 

"  You  apparently  mistake  the  idea  of 
Christ's   church,   to   begin   with,"  I   said. 

32 


Waiting  to  be  (3ooD  JEnougb 

"The  church  is  not  an  exhibition  hall, 
where  good  men  and  women  show  them- 
selves. The  church  is  a  hospital  where 
are  those  who  need  and  want  to  be  saved 
by  Christ.  Yet,  as  I  understand  you,  you 
are  unwilling  to  be  counted  as  one  who 
needs  the  hospital  or  the  Great  Physician, 
but  you  want  to  stand  off  outside  and 
prove  that  you  can  cure  yourself.  Is  that 
making  an  honest  show  ?  " 

"  I  don't  want  to  have  it  look  that  way." 
**  I  shouldn't  think  you  would." 
So  another  man  concluded  to  join  the 
church,  not  because  he  thought  he  was  as 
good  as  the  average,  but  because  he 
felt  he  needed  hospital  treatment  as  much 
as  the  average  church-member. 

It  is  important  for  every  person  who  is 
in  the  church  to  bear  in  mind  this  truth  as 
to  the  nature  and  mission  of  the  church. 
It  is  not  as  an  exhibition  hall,  but  as  a 
hospital,  that  it  calls  for  members  and  that 
members  continue  in  it.  No  man  has 
made  such  progress  in  the  Christian  life 

33 


IKow  to  5>cal  wltb  5)oubt0 

that  he  no  longer  needs  the  helps  that  the 
church  supplies  to  him.  The  more  prog- 
ress one  makes  the  more  he  desires  prog- 
ress. If  he  feels  that  he  is  good  enough 
to  be  a  church-member,  he  gives  evidence 
that  he  has  no  right  view  of  the  church  of 
Christ,  or  of  right  hfe  in  Christ. 


34 


TKHatttng  for  Sometbtno  Unsi^e 
to  ** Break*' 

A  barrier  to  the  conscious  service  of 
Christ  is,  with  many  souls,  the  fear  that 
a  desired  and  necessary  change  in  their 
inner  being  has  not  taken  place.  This 
fear  is  commonly  caused  by  a  sad  error 
on  their  part,  resulting  from  the  wrong 
preaching  and  teaching  to  which  they 
have  listened,  or  from  their  misreading 
of  the  Bible  as  improperly  translated, 
or  as  incorrectly  understood.  But  what- 
ever has  caused  it,  the  barrier,  real  or 
supposed,  often  exists,  and  it  must  be 
met  and  wisely  dealt  with. 

As  illustrative  of  a  multitude  of  similar 
cases,  a  single  instance  may  be  cited  out 
of  my  sphere  of  observation.  A  promi- 
nent man  in  a  New  England  community 
had  been  brought  up  under  the  best  re- 

35 


Mow  to  Deal  witb  Doubts 

ligious  influences  then  prevalent  in  that 
region.  He  had  from  boyhood  been  ac- 
customed to  read  the  Bible  and  pray  day 
by  day.  He  was  regular  in  church  attend- 
ance. He  was  careful  and  strict  in  his 
morals.  But  all  this  was,  as  he  had  been 
taught,  of  the  outer  man ;  it  did  not  touch 
or  indicate  the  inner  life  or  spiritual  being. 
He  had  been  taught  from  the  pulpit  and 
by  the  religious  literature  of  the  day,  that 
until  he  had  been  converted,  or  regenerated, 
he  would  have  no  right  to  count  himself 
an  accepted  child  of  God.  And  for  this 
change,  which  he  had  no  power  to  com- 
pass, he  waited  and  hoped  and  prayed. 

When  he  grew  up  and  married  he  was 
ready  to  do  anything  and  everything  in 
his  own  power  to  show  his  readiness  and 
desire  to  be  Christ's,  but  for  the  essential 
change  of  spiritual  nature  he  felt  he  must 
wait  God's  time  and  act.  He  was  faithful 
in  personal  and  household  worship.  He 
conducted  family  prayers  regularly.  He 
asked  a  blessing  at  his  table.     He  taught 

36 


TIDlamng  for  Sometbinfl  tml^c  to  **3Breaft" 

a  class  of  young  men  in  the  Sunday-school. 
But  he  felt  he  had  no  right  to  count  him- 
self a  converted,  a  regenerated,  a  new-born, 
soul.  All  that  he  could  do  in  God's  ser- 
vice he  was  ready  to  do,  but  conversion,  or 
regeneration,  was  God's  work.  For  that 
he  must  wait  God's  time  and  method. 
More  than  half  a  century  passed  away, 
leaving  him  as  it  found  him  so  far  as  this 
was  concerned. 

His  children,  brought  up  under  these  in- 
fluences, were  led  by  their  Sunday-school 
teachers  and  companions  to  confess  Christ 
as  their  Saviour,  and  they  became  active  as 
teachers  and  as  church  workers.  But  the 
good  and  sad-hearted  man  remained  out- 
side the  recognized  fold  of  Christ.  This 
was  so  to  the  last  of  his  earthly  life.  It 
was  doubtless  a  blessed  surprise  to  him 
when  he  was  welcomed  by  his  Saviour  as 
one  of  his  loved  ones,  when  his  spirit-eyes 
were  opened  beyond  the  veil  of  flesh.  Yet 
that  good  man  was  only  one  of  multitudes 
who  have  lived  and  died  in  Christ's  service 

37 


How  to  Deal  witb  Doubts 

thinking  that  they  had  no  right  to  trust 
Christ  as  their  Saviour  because  some  mys- 
terious change,  which  they  could  neither 
understand  nor  secure,  had  not  been 
wrought  in  them.  What  a  realm  of  doubt 
and  of  doubters  is  opened  before  us  by 
such  an  illustration ! 

Years  after  this,  which  was  my  first  ac- 
quaintance with  one  of  the  "  outside  saints," 
— kept  outside  by  the  barrier  of  doubt  raised 
by  mistaken  teaching,  —  I  was  brought 
into  close  association  with  another  doubter 
of  the  sort,  who  was  even  more  positive, 
although  less  intelligent,  than  the  other, 
on  the  subject.  The  son  of  a  godly  and 
strict  father,  whose  views  in  the  line  of  a 
certain  phase  of  old-fashioned  orthodoxy 
were  pronounced  and  outspoken  as  to 
man's  inability  of  himself  to  turn  to  God, 
was  near  me  socially,  and  sat  near  me  in 
church.  In  him  I  became  much  inter- 
ested, and  I  sought  to  lead  him  to  an  open 
confession  in  Christ's  service.  But  I  found 
that  the  young  doubter  was  positive  as  to 

38 


Waitlnfl  for  Sometbing  InatDe  to  **:©rcaft'* 

his  right  or  power  to  act  until  God  made 
him  wilhng  and  able.  In  response  to  the 
most  tender  and  earnest  invitation,  he  said : 

"  I  wish  I  could  trust  Christ  as  my 
Saviour,  but  I  know  it  isn't  possible  until 
my  heart  is  changed." 

"  But  have  you  nothing  to  do  in  the 
matter  ?  " 

"  My  part  is  to  wait  and  be  ready.  I 
come  to  church  and  prayer-meeting  regu- 
larly. God  knows  how  I  feel  about  it,  but 
until  he  converts  me  I  cannot  be  a  Chris- 
tian. I  cannot  convert  myself.  So  there 
it  is." 

That  erroneous  view  was  a  barrier  of 
doubt.  My  words,  with  my  knowledge 
and  experience  of  them,  unfortunately  did 
not  move  it  or  him. 

In  another  case,  one  with  whom  I 
prayed  was  helped  to  imagine  that  he 
had  evidence  that  God  helped  him  over 
that  barrier,  and  his  fancy  was  suggestive 
as  showing  the  working  of  many  a  man's 
mind.      He  was  a  man  who  had  been  a 

39 


How  to  Deal  witb  DoulJts 

soldier  in  my  regiment  in  the  Civil  War, 
After  the  war,  when  I  was  preaching  on  a 
Sunday  evening  in  the  pulpit  of  a  friend, 
in  Massachusetts,  I  saw  this  man  before 
me.  At  the  close  of  the  service  the  man 
came  up  to  greet  me,  and  I  invited  him 
to  go  with  me  to  the  pastor's  house  for  a 
talk.  He  came,  and  we  were  soon  to- 
gether in  a  room  by  ourselves.  After  a 
few  words  over  old  experiences,  a  conver- 
sation somewhat  like  this  ensued : 

"  Have  you  ever  confessed  Christ  as 
your  Saviour?  " 

"  No,  I  have  not ;  but  I  wish  I  could." 

"Are  you  ready  to  give  yourself  to 
Christ  with  all  your  heart  ?  " 

"  Indeed  I  am.  But  I  suppose  I  must 
be  converted." 

"  God  will  take  care  of  that,  if  you  will 
commit  yourself  to  him  without  keeping 
anything  back." 

The  man  had  been  a  good  soldier  in  war 
time,  and  he  knew  what  enlisting  meant. 

"  Are  you  ready  to  enlist  in  Christ's  ser- 
40 


MaitinQ  for  Somctbing  tneit^c  to  '^^Brcaft** 

vice  here  and  now,  not  merely  for  three 
years,  but  for  all  time?" 

"  I  am,  and  I'd  like  to." 

Then  we  two  dropped  on  our  knees 
together,  and  I  told  the  Lord  that  here 
was  a  new  recruit  who  wanted  to  be  under 
Christ's  flag,  and  in  the  Saviour's  service. 
I  asked  the  Lord  to  accept  him  and  to  help 
him  to  be  true. 

As  we  rose  from  our  knees,  the  hearer 
of  the  evening,  with  the  light  of  joy  in  his 
face,  exclaimed  jubilantly: 

"  Chaplain,  it's  all  right  now.  I'm  sure 
it  is.  When  you  prayed  there,  I  felt  some- 
thing sort  o'  break  inside  of  me.  I  think  I 
needn't  have  any  doubt  any  more." 

I  knew  the  soldier  spirit  of  my  old  com- 
rade. He  was  loyal  and  patriotic.  He  was 
glad  to  enlist,  but  he  thought  that  God 
had  a  special  work  to  do,  for  which  he  had 
waited.  And  now  he  was  encouraged  to 
believe  that,  as  we  prayed,  a  sign  of 
God's  willingness  to  accept  the  recruit  had 
been    given.     This   he   called   the   feeling 

41 


How  to  Deal  witb  Doubts 

that  something  inside  "  sort  o'  broke."  The 
way  of  duty  and  of  faith  was  plain  thence- 
forth to  him. 

The  command  "  Be  converted  "  was  an 
improper  translation  in  our  old  Bibles. 
The  phrase  is  correctly  rendered,  in  the 
Revision,  "turn,"  or  "turn  again."  Turn- 
ing toward  God  is  a  simple  duty  whenever 
one  is  on  the  wrong  track,  however  often 
he  needs  to  turn.  Theological  errors  of 
generations  cannot  always  be  removed  by 
formal  discussion  with  an  anxious  soul, 
but  that  soul  may  be  led  to  see  that  God 
is  now  ready  to  take  him  just  as  he  is, 
and  that  God  will  cause  to  "  sort  o'  break  " 
whatever  inner  bond  had  held  back  the 
willing  soul. 


42 


VI 

jfacina  **  tbe  TIlnpart)onable  Sin  *' 

If  there  is  one  mental  trouble  above 
another  that  seems  to  call  for  sympathy 
and  tenderness  of  treatment,  it  is  the  fear 
that  one  has  committed  "the  unpardonable 
sin,"  and  now  stands  facing  hopelessly  the 
eternal  consequences  of  this  wrong-doing. 
Nor  is  this  fear  an  utterly  exceptional  one. 
Many  a  sensitive  conscience  has  suffered 
from  it  for  years.  It  is  worth  serious 
thought  on  the  part  of  all  those  who 
would  help  souls. 

Several  conversations  which  I  had  with 
one  of  these  troubled  souls  illustrates  one 
phase  of  this  difficulty,  and  a  way  of 
meeting  it.  A  young  man  who  was  ac- 
tive in  Christian  work,  and  who  was  a 
confessed  follower  of  Christ,  had  puzzled 
over  the  words  of  our  Lord  that  blasphemy 
against  the  Holy  Spirit  could  not  be  for- 

43 


liow  to  2)eal  witb  2)out)t5 

given  (see  Matt.  12  :  31-37).  Thinking 
over  the  subject  persistently,  he  had  come 
to  fear  that  he  had  committed  that  sin,  and 
he  was  oppressed  accordingly. 

"As  I  read  the  Bible,"  he  said,  "^Who- 
soever shall  speak  against  the  Holy  Spirit, 
it  shall  not  be  forgiven  him,  neither  in  this 
world,  nor  in  that  which  is  to  come.*  Now 
I  fear  that  I  have,  at  some  time,  spoken  in 
that  way.  If  I  have,  there  is  no  hope 
for  me." 

"  Did  you  do  this  deliberately,  and  with 
a  purpose  of  doing  it  ?  Or  did  you  merely 
do  it  triflingly  and  irreverently  ?  " 

"  It  is  the  thing  itself  that  is  spoken  of 
by  our  Lord,  without  reference  to  the  inner 
spirit  of  the  speaker." 

"  Have  you  regretted  your  thoughtless 
and  irreverent  evil  speech  ?  " 

"  Yes,  indeed  I  have,  many  and  many 
times.  But  that  doesn't  make  any  differ- 
ence in  the  case  of  a  sin  that  will  not  be 
forgiven  in  this  world  or  the  next,  in  spite 
of  our  repentings." 

44 


^pacing  **tbc'mnpatOonable  Sfif 

"Does  it  seem  like  a  loving  God,  to 
be  watching  for  one  slip  of  the  tongue, 
or  one  thoughtless  or  irreverent  word, 
and  then  to  refuse  to  forgive  that  wrong, 
however  penitent  or  humble  the  wrong- 
doer finally  is  ?  God  sent  Jesus  into  this 
world  to  show  his  love  for  sinners^  and 
Jesus  'is  able  to  save  to  the  uttermost 
them  that  draw  near  unto  God  through 
him,  seeing  he  ever  liveth  to  make  in- 
tercession for  them '  (see  Heb.  7  :  25). 
Is  your  view  consistent  with  the  Bible 
teachings  about  the  never-failing  love  of 
God?" 

"  I  shouldn't  think  so  if  it  were  not  for 
those  words  of  Jesus  about  this  07ie  sin  as 
different  from  all  other  sins.  But  there  his 
words  stand,  and  I'm  fearfully  troubled  be- 
cause of  them." 

"  Well,  now,  my  friend,  don't  you  mis- 
read those  words  as  they  were  spoken  and 
as  the  record  of  them  stands  ?  When  did 
Jesus  speak  those  words  ?  and  to  whom  ? 
and    under   what    circumstances?      They 

4S 


Wow  to  Deal  wltb  2)oubts 

are  too  important  to  be  perverted  and 
misused.  Have  a  care,  therefore,  on  that 
point.  Read  over  more  carefully  the  pas- 
sage in  Matthew's  Gospel,  and  see  what 
the  words  mean.  Jesus  was  working  won- 
ders of  grace.  He  was  showing  the  love 
of  the  Father  and  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  He  was  opposing  Satan  and  his 
works.  Then  those  who  opposed  Jesus 
said  that  he  and  his  disciples  were  repre- 
sentatives of  Satan.  At  this,  Jesus  sug- 
gested that  one  who  counted  the  Holy 
Spirit  and  Satan  one  and  the  same,  was  in 
a  hopeless  state;  God  could  do  nothing 
more  for  such  a  man.  If  one  who  sees 
God's  work  and  Satan's  work  says  that 
there  is  no  difference  between  the  two, 
God  is  powerless  in  that  man's  behalf 
God  has  nothing  better  than  the  Holy 
Spirit's  work  to  show  to  a  man  in  this 
world  or  the  next.  My  friend,  can  you 
see  nothing  better  in  the  Holy  Spirit's 
work  than  in  the  work  of  Satan  ? " 
"  Indeed,  I  can  see  a  great  deal  that  is 
46 


jfacing  **tbe  TnnparDonable  Sin" 

better.  There  is  no  comparison  to  be 
made  between  the  two.  One  is  all  good ; 
the  other  is  all  bad." 

"  Then  you  have  no  doubt  as  to  where 
you  would  stand  on  that  issue  ?  " 

"  Of  course  I  do  not." 

"  If,  therefore,  the  unpardonable  sin  is 
being  on  the  side  of  Satan  against  the 
Holy  Spirit,  as  the  great  issue  in  the  con- 
test, in  this  world  or  in  the  next,  you 
would  feel  that  you  were  on  the  right  side 
and  in  the  right  state, — would  you  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  would,  as  you  state  the  case. 
But  I  have  not  been  looking  at  it  in  that 
way.  I  have  not  read  the  words  of  Jesus 
in  this  way  before." 

"  Well,  that  is  the  way  that  I  read  those 
words,  as  they  were  spoken  according  to 
the  Bible  record.  I  find  a  meaning  in 
them  consistent  with  the  spirit  of  Jesus, 
with  the  general  teachings  of  Scripture, 
with  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  their 
utterance,  with  the  lessons  of  sound 
reason,   and   with   the  very  letter   of  the 

47 


Wow  to  Deal  witb  2)oubt5 

text.  On  the  other  hand,  you  find  a  mean- 
ing in  the  words  as  you  read  them  that  is, 
as  you  admit,  not  consistent  with  what  you 
have  known  of  the  love  of  the  Father,  with 
the  spirit  of  Jesus,  or  with  the  known 
workings  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Which  of 
these  two  methods  is  to  be  preferred? 
Tell  me  frankly." 

"  Your  view,  I  admit,  does  seem  the 
most  reasonable." 

"  We  may  always  be  sure  that  a  positive 
command  or  threat  of  God  is  based  on  a 
principle  prevalent  throughout  all  God's 
domain.  It  is  never  a  mere  specific  of- 
fense or  transgression  that  he  refers  to  as 
cutting  one  off  from  hope,  but  rather  an 
attitude  of  being,  which  would  be  the  same 
in  this  life  and  beyond.  Thus  it  is  in  this 
instance.  But,  tell  me,  did  it  ever  trouble 
you  to  think  that  the  sin  you  had  com- 
mitted had  shut  you  out  from  God's  love 
and  presence  ?  " 

"It  has  caused  me  agony  unspeakable. 
I  have  mourned  over  it,  and  prayed  about 

48 


facing  **tbc  TUnpatDonable  Sin*' 

it  day  and  night;  and  oh,  how  I  have 
longed  for  help!" 

"  That  is  in  itself  proof  that  you  have  not 
committed  the  unpardonable  sin.  Jesus 
speaks  of  that  sin  as  putting  its  doer  in  a 
hopelessly  hostile  attitude  toward  God. 
If  you  had  committed  that  sin,  or  were  in 
that  attitude  of  being,  you  would  not  want 
to  be  forgiven  or  loved  of  God.  No,  no, 
my  friend,  you  have  sins  enough  that  can 
be  forgiven,  which  you  ought  to  think 
about  and  strive  to  overcome,  without 
worrying  over  the  unpardonable  sin  which 
you  do  not  comprehend,  and  which  you 
evidently  have  not  committed." 

And  that  long-troubled  soul  was  led 
into  the  light,  and  found  peace  and  rest 
in  the  assured  love  of  God.  May  every 
soul  similarly  perplexed  have  like  rest  and 
peace ! 

He  had  been  worrying  over  a  sin  which 
he  had  not  committed ;  but  which  if  he 
had  committed,  he  would  have  ceased  to 
worry  about.     So,  in  fact,  his  very  worrying 

49 


Wow  to  2)cal  witb  Doubts 

was  proof  that  he  had  no  cause  for  worry. 
How  Satan  gives  trouble  to  those  who 
are  his  determined  enemies,  leaving  alone 
those  of  whom  he  is  already  sure ! 


SO 


VII 

Matting  for  flnote  ifattb 

That  faith  is  essential  to  spiritual  life,  no 
one  can  doubt  who  reads  intelligently  the 
Old  Testament  or  the  New.  Abraham  had 
faith,  and  that  faith  was  reckoned  to  him 
for  righteousness, — for  a  right  state  before 
God.  Inspired  prophets  tell  us  that  the 
just,  the  righteous,  are  to  live  by  their  faith, 
by  their  restful  trust  in  God.  Hardly  any 
single  injunction  is  more  frequently  ex- 
pressed by  the  Saviour  of  men,  to  those 
who  desire  his  help,  than  the  command  to 
"  have  faith  in  God,"  It  is  their  faith  that 
Jesus  insists  on.  It  is  on  their  faith  that  his 
help  depends.  It  is  by  means  of  their  faith 
that  they  are  saved.  So  clearly  and  positively 
is  this  truth  expressed  in  the  Bible  that  those 
who  would  be  guided  by  the  precepts  of  that 
Book  are  ever  ready  to  give  prominence  to 
the  duty  of  faith  as  their  ground  of  hope. 

51 


How  to  Deal  witb  :©oul>t0 

Yet  a  clear  idea  of  what  faith  is,  and  of 
what  it  is  to  have  faith,  is  anything  but 
common  among  Bible  readers  and  seekers 
of  peace  and  rest.  Of  course,  systematic 
theology  has  done  much  to  mislead  and 
confuse  those  who  would  know  and  have 
right  ideas  of  God's  teachings.  Thus  theo- 
logians have  told  us  that  there  are  different 
kinds  of  faith, — that  there  is  intellectual 
faith,  and  formal  faith,  and  lifeless  faith, 
and,  again,  that  there  is  saving  faith.  This 
leads  the  anxious  to  wonder  what  are  the 
distinctive  characteristics  of  that  kind  of 
faith  of  which  prophet  and  apostle  had  so 
much  to  say,  and  on  which  Jesus  seemed 
to  pivot  his  power  to  help  life-seekers. 

Faith  is  not  a  possession  or  attainment, 
the  having  of  which  enables  a  man  to  be 
strong,  and  to  have  knowledge,  and  to 
work  wonders  in  his  sphere.  Faith  is  an 
attitude  of  being  toward  God,  a  condition 
of  mind  and  spirit  that  makes  one  ready  to 
accept  as  sure  what  God  has  promised,  and 
what  God  has  said  he  will  do.     President 

52 


maitind  for  mote  jfaitb 

Mark  Hopkins  once  said  simply  and 
wisely :  "  There  is  no  conflict  between  faith 
and  reason.  Faith  is  the  beHeving  that  God 
will  do  as  he  has  promised.  That  certainly 
is  not  unreasonable."  Again,  good  Dr.  Bush- 
nell  said :  "  Faith  is  not  a  mysterious  posses- 
sion, it  is  a  simple  act.  Faith  is  that  act  by 
which  one  person,  a  sinner,  commits  himself 
to  another  person,  a  Saviour." 

It  is  indeed  strange  that  so  many  per- 
plexed doubters  have  worried  for  years 
over  the  question  whether  they  had  enough 
faith,  or  whether  the  faith  they  had  was  of 
the  right  sort.  While  faith,  true  faith,  is  so 
reasonable  and  so  simple,  one  who  has  for 
years  had  much  to  do  with  perplexed 
doubters  has  no  hesitation  in  saying  that 
no  other  cause  of  doubt  has  been  so  com- 
mon or  so  persistent,  among  those  who 
have  sought  his  help,  as  the  lack,  or  the 
quality,  or  the  relative  measure,  of  faith. 
About  the  necessity  of  faith  most  are 
agreed.  About  the  possession  of  faith 
there  is  much  doubt. 

53 


Wow  to  Deal  witb  Doubts 

One  who  had  been  for  years  an  active 
member  of  a  prominent  church,  and  who 
was  at  that  very  time  a  Sunday-school 
teacher,  came  to  me  as  one  who,  as  he 
thought,  gave  evidence  of  faith,  while  he 
bemoaned  his  own  lack  of  it.  To  me  he 
said  longingly : 

"  I  wish  I  had  your  faith,  my  friend." 

"  What  do  you  want  of  my  faith  ?  "  was 
the  reply.  "You'd  better  have  your  own 
faith.  You've  nothing  more  to  do  with 
my  faith  than  with  my  pocket-book.  Let 
every  man  have  his  own  faith." 

"  Then  I'll  say  I  wish  I  had  more  faith, 
— more  faith  of  my  own." 

"  You  have  got  more  faith  now  than  you 
are  willing  to  use.  What  would  you  do 
with  any  more?  If  you've  faith  as  big 
as  a  grain  of  mustard-seed,  and  will  use 
it  aright,  you  can  uproot  big  trees  and 
mighty  mountains,  and  do  other  great 
things.  Your  difficulty  is  not  in  being 
without  enough  faith,  but  in  being  unwill- 
ing to  use  what  faith  you  have.     If  you 

54 


Waiting  for  {llote  faitb 

believe  one  thing  that  Jesus  promises  you, 
and  are  ready  to  do  accordingly,  you  are 
using  a  little  of  your  faith.  Then  you  are 
ready  to  have  and  to  use  more  faith.  Hav- 
ing faith  is  of  no  use  except  as  you  use  it." 

Encouraged  to  take  this  view  of  faith 
and  of  truth,  this  doubter  came  to  exer- 
cise faith,  and  his  faith  grew  accordingly. 
Finally  his  faith  actually  evidenced  itself 
to  the  ends  of  the  earth, — while  he  was  an 
active  foreign  missionary, — and  he  rejoiced 
in  his  faith,  or  in  the  Saviour  on  whom  it 
rested,  and  others  were  thereby  benefited. 

For  years  a  seeker  after  truth  and  light 
suffered  in  doubt  because  she  thought  she 
had  not  faith  enough,  or  that  the  faith  she 
had  was  not  of  the  right  sort.  She  was 
constant  in  prayer  and  longing.  She  was 
ready  to  do  every  duty  which  she  knew. 
She  studied  the  Bible  for  counsel  and  com- 
fort. She  got  help  at  many  points,  but  at 
other  points  she  was  met  by  the  injunction 
that  even  in  seeking  help  from  God  she 
must  ask  in  unwavering  faith,  and  that  re- 

55 


IHow  to  Deal  witb  Doubts 

quirement  seemed  a  barrier  to  her.  In 
telling  of  her  troubles  to  one  of  whom  she 
sought  counsel,  she  stated  the  case  in  this 
way: 

"  When  I  found  the  invitation  in  James 
I  :  5,  I  thought  I  was  helped:  *  If  any  of 
you  lacketh  wisdom,  let  him  ask  of  God, 
who  giveth  to  all  liberally  and  upbraideth 
not ;  and  it  shall  be  given  him.'  That  was 
encouraging.  The  next  verses,  however, 
staggered  me :  *  But  let  him  ask  in  faith, 
nothing  doubting :  for  he  that  doubteth  is 
like  the  surge  of  the  sea  driven  by  the 
wind  and  tossed.  For  let  not  that  man 
think  that  he  shall  receive  anything  of  the 
Lord;  a  doubleminded  man,  unstable  in 
all  his  ways.'  I'm  afraid  I'm  a  double- 
minded  person.  My  faith  sometimes  wavers. 
I  wish  I  could  have  a  faith  where  there'd 
never  be  a  doubt." 

"  Do  you  mean  that  you  sometimes 
think  that  Christ  is  to  be  trusted,  and  at 
other  times  you  do  not  think  that  he  is  to 
be  depended  on  ?  "     That  was  the  question 

56 


Matting  tor  more  3Faitb 

put  to  the  doubter  by  the  one  whose  coun- 
sel she  sought. 

"  No,  I  never  have  any  doubt  about 
Christ.  I'm  only  speaking  about  my  faith 
in  Christ.  I  don't  always  have  the  same 
feeling  of  faith  in  Christ." 

"  Then  it  is  not  a  matter  of  your  faith, 
but  of  your  personal  feeling,  that  troubles 
you.  Your  faith  depends  on  what  Christ 
is,  and  what  you  understand  him  to  be. 
Your  feeling  on  the  subject  may  depend 
on  any  one  of  a  dozen  things.  Sometimes 
a  walk  in  the  fresh  air  will  change  your 
feelings.  Sometimes  a  little  soda-mint  or 
spirits  of  ammonia  will  set  things  straight 
inside." 

And  she  was  thus  shown  to  be  another 
of  the  many  who  are  needlessly  in  doubt 
because  they  confound  their  feelings  about 
faith  with  faith  itself  Faith  is  indeed  im- 
portant, but  one's  feeHngs  about  faith  are 
of  no  importance. 

Another  doubter  about  his  faith  I  visited 
at  a  time  when  the  doubter  was  in  bereave* 

57 


IKow  to  2)cal  witb  2)oubts 

ment,  and  when  he  regretted  that  he  could 
not  count  himself  a  child  of  God.  He  was 
a  man  upright  in  his  personal  life,  a  lover 
of  the  Bible,  a  constant  church  attendant. 
He  was  in  the  habit  of  personal  prayer,  but 
he  did  not  think  it  would  be  right  for  him, 
without  faith,  to  confess  Christ  as  his  Sav- 
iour. I  sought  to  induce  him  to  evidence 
faith  in  confessing  Christ  before  men. 

"I'd  like  to,"  he  said,  "but  I  have  no 
faith  in  Christ." 

"  Why  don't  you  have  faith  ?  "  asked  his 
friend. 

"  Because  it  is  not  in  my  power  to  have 
faith." 

"  Do  you  believe  that  Christ  is  worthy 
of  being  loved  and  obeyed  ?  " 

"  Yes,  indeed  I  do." 

"Then  why  do  you  not* love  and  obey 
him  ?  " 

"  I  do  love  him,  and  I  obey  him  in 
everything  except  when  he  tells  me  to 
have  faith.  In  that  one  thing  I  am  power- 
less." 

58 


Waiting  for  flllote  jfaitb 

"  Let  us  see  about  that,"  I  said.  "  Sup- 
pose that  this  very  night  you  were  to  know 
there  was  to  be  a  struggle  between  the 
friends  and  the  enemies  of  Jesus,  and  you 
were  told  that  those  who  wanted  to  be 
true  to  him  must  line  up  on  the  other  side 
of  the  street,  while  those  who  were  against 
Jesus,  or  who  were  in  doubt  about  their 
position,  could  stay  where  they  were ;  what 
would  you  do  ?  " 

"  I'd  go  over  on  the  other  side  of  the 
street,  where  his  supporters  lined  up." 

"Would  you  do  this  if  it  would  cost  you 
your  life,  and  when  you  might  risk  your 
soul ?  " 

"Of  course  I  would,"  he  said. 

"  That  is  what  Jesus  counts  faith,"  said 
his  friend,  "and  standing  up  to  confess 
Christ  before  men  is  lining  up  with  his  fol- 
lowers on  his  side  of  the  way." 

And  on  the  next  occasion  when  new 
members  were  received  into  our  home 
church,  I  rejoiced  to  see  the  long-time 
doubter  stand  up  in  line  with  those  who 

59 


IKow  to  2)eal  witb  Doubts 

were  ready  to  declare  their  trust  in  Christ 
as  their  Saviour.  How  many  there  are 
who  have  doubt  about  their  faith  when 
they  have  no  doubt  about  their  Saviour, 
and  who  are  ready  to  show  this,  at  any 
risk,  in  a  testing  time! 


60 


VIII 

Urouble^  ^Because  Bnjoptng 
(5oO'0  Semce 

It  may  seem  strange,  but  it  is  neverthe- 
less undeniable,  that  many  Christians  have 
been  troubled  because  they  were  finding 
enjoyment  in  God's  service.  They  have,  in 
fact,  been  disturbed  because  they  were  not 
disturbed ;  were  unhappy,  because  they 
were  happy.  And,  after  all,  this  is  by  no 
means  to  be  wondered  at,  with  human 
nature  as  it  is,  and  vv'ith  God's  grace  work- 
ing as  it  does.  But  it  is  an  important  aspect 
of  truth  to  be  considered  by  one  who  would 
give  help  to  doubters. 

It  is  true  that  it  is  easier  to  slip  down 
than  to  clamber  up ;  more  inviting  to  enter 
the  broad  and  thronged  road  to  death  than 
to  walk  in  the  less-trod  narrow  path  that 
leads  to  life.  But  one  who  continues  to  toil 
upward  may  after  a  while  find  enjoyment  in 

6i 


IKow  to  2)cal  wltb  2)oul)t0 

surmounting  obstacles  and  breathing  the 
purer  air  of  the  loftier  regions.  And  as 
the  years  go  on  there  is  more  true  enjoy- 
ment in  the  strait  and  narrow  way  of  life 
than  in  the  broad  and  easy  road  of  death. 
These  things  are  not,  however,  always 
borne  in  mind  by  one  who  looks  at  a  single 
side  of  the  case. 

Probably  the  difficulty  was  more  com- 
mon in  former  days  than  in  these;  but 
there  are  still  manifestations  of  it  among 
believers.  It  is  back  of  the  idea  of  penance 
and  self-mortification.  Many  a  man  has 
thought  he  had  a  better  prospect  of  wear- 
ing a  white  robe  in  the  next  life  if  he  wore 
a  haircloth  shirt  in  this.  Scourging  the 
body  with  whips  has  often  been  undertaken 
as  a  help  to  saving  the  soul.  This  has 
been  practiced  not  only  among  heathen 
and  idolaters,  but  among  followers  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  the  later  as  well  as 
the  earlier  centuries. 

Within  my  memory  it  was  a  prevalent 
idea  that  there  was  a  superior  sanctity  in 

62 


tlroublcO  JSecausc  jenjo^ing  (So^'s  Service 

a  long  face  and  a  gloomy  expression  of 
countenance.  Cheerfulness  in  looks  or  in 
voice  was  supposed  to  be  at  variance  with 
true  religious  devotion.  If  one  would 
rightly  observe  the  Sabbath,  he  must  avoid 
giving  positive  evidence  of  enjoyment  or 
happiness  between  sundown  on  Saturday 
evening  and  sundown  on  Sunday  evening. 

So  far  did  this  idea  extend  that  many  an 
earnest  Christian  actually  believed  that  true 
enjoyment  was  inconsistent  with  a  right 
performance  of  religious  duty.  Not  only 
must  a  man  do  right  whether  he  found  it 
easy  or  difficult,  pleasant  or  disagreeable ; 
but  to  find  duty-doing  easy  and  pleasant 
was  an  indication  of  a  wrong  spirit,  if, 
indeed,  it  did  not  show  that  he  had  mis- 
taken the  path  of  duty. 

As  a  practical  consequence  of  this  way 
of  looking  at  duty,  many  felt  that  to  find 
pleasure  in  God's  service  was  to  throw  sus- 
picion on  the  acts  of  service  which  could 
cause  pleasure  rather  than  pain.  Of  two 
lines  of  effort,  one  attractive  and  the  other 

63 


How  to  ®cal  witb  Doubts 

repellent,  the  repellent  one  was  thought  to 
be  more  likely  than  the  other  to  be  right, 
because  the  human  heart  inclines  to  evil 
rather  than  to  good.  It  may  seem  strange 
that  any  intelligent  believer  could  have 
reasoned  in  this  way ;  but  that  many  have 
thus  reasoned  cannot  be  denied.  Hence  in 
this  case,  as  in  many  another,  it  is  the  dutv 
of  one  who  would  give  help  to  the  doubter 
to  perceive  in  what  he  is  most  unreason- 
able, and  to  enable  him  to  see  its  unreason- 
able side. 

I  knew  of  one  instance  of  this  sort 
which  is  illustrative  of  many  others.  A 
prominent  Christian  worker  had  begun 
very  early  in  life  to  walk  in  the  narrow 
path,  and  to  clamber  toward  the  spiritual 
heights.  His  time,  all  his  powers,  and  his 
every  worldly  possession,  he  counted  as  a 
trust  committed  to  his  charge,  to  be  used 
in  God's  service.  As  the  years  went  on  he 
came  to  find  most  enjoyment  in  doing  what 
he  felt  God  would  have  him  do.  Nothing 
else  was  to  be  compared  with  this,  in  his 

64 


tTroubleD  ^Because  Bnjoisins  (5oD'5  Service 

estimation.  And  this  began  to  trouble 
him.  It  was  so  at  variance  with  much  that 
he  heard  from  the  pulpit  and  in  the  prayer- 
meeting  of  his  day,  and  that  he  read  in  the 
current  religious  literature,  that  he  ques- 
tioned himself  as  to  the  possibility  of  his 
being  on  the  wrong  track  in  life.  As  to 
the  fact  that  he  really  enjoyed  life  in  his 
present  course  he  could  have  no  ques- 
tion. Where  was  the  cause  of  trouble? 
Coming  to  me,  whom  he  knew  inti- 
mately, he  stated  the  case  somewhat  in 
this  way : 

"  For  years  I  have  been  in  the  habit  of 
giving  systematically  a  regular  portion  of 
my  income.  As  God  has  prospered  me  in 
business  affairs,  I  have  for  some  time  had 
quite  ample  means  to  dispose  of,  and  I 
have  been  enjoying  this  distribution.  And 
now  the  pleasure  I  find  in  it  is  seriously 
troubling  me." 

"  Have  you  been  guided  in  your  particu- 
lar gifts  by  the  enjoyment  you  would  have, 
or  by  your  sense  of  duty?" 

65 


How  to  Deal  witb  2>oubts 

"  Of  course  I  have  tried  to  do  my  duty 
in  every  instance  of  giving." 

"What  has  been  the  nature  of  your  spe- 
cial gifts  ?  " 

"  Besides  my  giving  to  causes  presented 
in  our  home  church,  I  have  helped  persons 
whom  I  knew  to  be  in  need.  I  have 
helped  widows  and  children  who  required 
assistance.  I  have  given  or  loaned  money 
to  students  struggling  for  an  education." 

"  Have  you  sought  prominence  by  the 
size  of  your  church  donations  ?  " 

"  On  the  contrary,  I  have  tried  to  avoid 
that.  If  I  desired  to  give  more  than  usual 
to  a  cause  on  our  church  list,  I  would  give 
about  as  much  as  would  be  expected  of 
me  in  the  regular  church  collection.  Then 
I  would  send  an  extra  sum  anonymously 
to  the  society  direct.  In  such  ways  I  have 
tried  to  avoid  prominence  as  a  giver." 

"  How  about  the  needy  and  worthy  per- 
sons helped  by  you  ;  have  you  given  either 
ostentatiously  or  recklessly  ?  " 

"  I  have  been  as  careful  as  possible  about 
66 


Q^roubleD  :Becau6c  Bnjo^ing  ©oD's  Service 

that.  I  have  avoided  prominence  and  any 
show  of  generosity.  I  have  taken  the  op- 
portunity of  quietly  lending  a  hand,  as  it 
were,  to  those  who  needed  a  helping  hand. 
In  the  case  of  young  students,  especially 
those  whom  I  knew  desired  to  be  in  the 
ministry,  I  have  made  a  loan  rather  than  a 
gift,  so  that  the  student  might  be  more 
independent  and  self-respecting." 

"  Do  you  think  that  your  gifts  have  been 
made  for  your  own  reputation  or  enjoy- 
ment, or  in  the  line  of  supposed  duty  and 
at  the  call  of  God  ?  " 

"  Of  course  I  have  given  in  each  case 
as  I  thought  was  in  the  Hne  of  duty,  and 
where  God  would  have  me  give.  But  I 
am  finding  such  enjoyment  in  thus  giving 
that  it  disturbs  me.  Where  does  the  self- 
denial  come  in?  We  are  told  to  deny 
ourselves." 

"  We  have  no  right  to  give  in  order  to 
gratify  self,  or  in  order  to  secure  selfish  en- 
joyment. But  do  you  think  there  is  any 
merit  in  personal  discomfort,  or  in  doing 

67 


Mow  to  2)eal  witb  Boubts 

what  we  shrink  from,  or  what  we  are  re- 
luctant to  do  ?  " 

"  I  confess  that  I  have  felt  that  the  best 
doing-,  and  that  reluctant  doing,  were  likely 
to  go  together,  if,  indeed,  they  were  not 
identical." 

"  If  that  is  the  way  you  look  at  it,  and 
there  is  any  reason,  or  true  ground,  for 
your  feeling  as  you  do,  I  think  I  can  sug- 
gest a  cure  for  you,  or  can  propose  a  plan 
that  will  avoid  your  present  trouble.  Sup- 
pose you  try  this  method. 

"  When  next  you  learn  of  a  worthy  poor 
widow  with  children,  whom  you  might  be 
inclined  to  help,  just  quietly  refrain  from 
giving  her  of  your  means,  and  let  her  and 
her  little  ones  suffer.  And  when  you  know 
of  some  struggling  students  who  have  hard 
work  to  get  on  unaided,  resolutely  abstain 
from  doing  as  you  have  done  hitherto,  and 
see  that  they  have  no  help  from  you." 

"  Oh,  I  couldn't  do  that !  " 

"  But  wouldn't  it  be  harder  and  more 
discomforting  than  if  you  gave  ?  " 

68 


^toubleD  :©ecau0e  JEnjosinQ  (3oO'0  Service 

"  Of  course  it  would." 

"Well,  there  is  where  the  self-denial 
would  come  in,  if  the  measure  of  discom- 
fort is  the  true  test  of  right." 

"  I  don't  really  know  that  it  is." 

"  Well,  I  don't  even  think  that  it  is. 
No,  my  friend,  my  idea  is,  that  you'd  bet- 
ter do  as  God  would  have  you  do,  whether 
you  like  it  or  not,  whether  it  is  agreeable 
or  disagreeable.  Why  should  you  be 
troubled  while  bearing  Christ's  yoke  and 
burden  in  his  service,  even  if  it  proves,  as 
he  promises,  that  his  yoke  is  easy  and  his 
burden  is  light  ?  " 

"  I  don't  suppose  I  should,  as  I  now  see 
the  matter." 

And  from  seeing  the  matter  in  a  new 
light,  that  child  of  God  lived  for  the  rest 
of  his  life  having  enjoyment,  instead  of 
trouble  and  worry,  in  giving  help  to  others 
as  God  enabled  him. 


69 


IX 

(ron5i&erlna  ©ur  Desires,  tnsteab 
ot  (3ot)'s  %ovc 

It  is  so  much  easier  for  us  to  feel  the 
force  of  what  we  wish  in  the  light  of  our 
present  conditions  and  surroundings,  than 
it  is  for  us  to  comprehend  what  God  wills 
in  the  light  of  His  infinite  knowledge  and 
boundless  love.  And  it  is  natural  for  those 
in  the  close  limitations  of  humanity  to  be 
correspondingly  unreasonable.  Most  per- 
sons are  readier  to  judge  God  for  his  acts 
as  affecting  their  supposed  interests  than  to 
be  judged  by  God  for  their  actions  as  re- 
lated to  his  disclosed  purposes  for  their 
true  welfare. 

I  was  hardly  more  than  a  boy  when  this 
truth  was  first  strongly  impressed  on  me 
by  the  course  and  words  of  a  young  father 
whom  I  knew.  The  young  man's  wife  was 
a  lovely  Christian  woman ;  but  he  had  never 

70 


®ur  Desires,  instead  of  (5o0's  %ovc 

committed  himself  trustfully  to  God's  guid- 
ance. While  reverent  toward  God  in  all 
his  outward  acts,  his  position  was  rather 
that  of  an  outside  observer  of  God  and 
God's  children  than  of  one  who  desired  to 
be  one  with  them.  When  his  first  child 
was  born  he  was  very  happy.  When  that 
child  was  taken  sick  he  was  very  anxious. 
Everything  that  medical  skill  and  nursing 
could  do  for  the  child's  recovery  was 
secured.  The  father  was  even  glad  to 
have  the  wife's  pastor  called  in  to  pray  for 
the  sick  child's  recovery.  But  when,  after 
all,  the  child  was  taken  away  by  death, 
the  grief  of  the  father  was  extreme;  and 
there  was  bitterness  in  that  grief 

The  father  was  now  childless, — and  this 
by  the  act  of  God.  Instead  of  being  in  any 
sense  submissive,  the  bereaved  father 
seemed  actually  angry  at  God.  He  did  not 
hesitate  to  say  that  it  would  have  been  a 
small  matter  to  God  to  spare  that  child, 
and  he  had  been  asked  to  do  so,  and  had 
refused  to  grant  the  request.     The  loss  of 

71 


THow  to  2)eal  witb  Doubts 

that  child  was  a  great  thing  to  the  father, 
and  God  knew  it  would  be  so.  And  now 
the  father's  feelings  were  well  known  to 
God,  and  God  could  not  expect  to  have  the 
bereaved  father's  support  or  approval 
thenceforward  while  that  father  lived. 

This  determined  attitude  toward,  or 
against,  God,  greatly  shocked  my  young 
mind,  as  it  was  the  first  revelation  to 
me  of  such  a  state  of  mind  in  view  of 
God's  providential  dealings  with  the  chil- 
dren of  men.  Yet  afterwards  I  found  that 
this  instance  was  by  no  means  an  isolated 
case.  Again  and  again,  as  I  came  to  be 
more  among  men,  I  found  this  attitude  of 
the  human  mind  existing;  and  I  sought 
to  deal  with  it  as  it  was,  instead  of  wonder- 
ing why  it  was  so. 

One  afternoon  I  was  asked,  under  pe- 
culiar circumstances,  to  call  on  a  young 
mother  who  was  ill  and  in  trouble.  I 
was  not  acquainted  with  her,  and  I  was 
told  that  she  did  not  wish  to  see  me;  yet 
the  circumstances  as  told  me  were   such 

72 


Qm  Destrcs,  ineteaD  of  0oJ)'s  Xove 

that  I  felt  it  to  be  my  duty  to  go  with  her 
husband,  as  he  told  her  story  and  made  the 
request  for  the  visit.  She  had  a  bright 
young  son,  who  was  for  some  years  her 
only  child.  She  had  wished  he  had  been 
a  daughter.  When,  after  some  years,  a 
little  daughter  was  born  to  her,  she  was 
full  of  happiness  and  hope.  But  in  a 
few  weeks  the  babe  sickened  and  died. 
Then  she  was  inconsolable.  Neither  hus- 
band nor  son  could  give  her  comfort.  She 
had  no  peace  or  rest  in  a  Saviour's  love. 
It  was  under  these  circumstances  that  I 
had  been  asked  to  visit  her,  and  that  I 
responded  to  the  call. 

She  was  unable  to  rise  from  her  bed, 
and  as  I,  the  caller,  sat  by  her  bedside,  I 
realized  that  I  was  unwelcome.  Knowing 
her  husband  and  boy,  I  spoke  of  them, 
and  then  said  that  I  was  sincerely  sorry 
to  learn  of  her  great  loss.  I  told  of  my 
own  sorrow  when  a  prisoner  of  war  in  a 
South  Carolina  jail,  and  the  first  letter  that 
came  to  me  through  the  lines  by  flag  of 

73 


How  to  Beal  witb  2)oubt0 

truce  told  of  the  death  of  my  youngest 
daughter.  I  couldn't  go  to  the  sorrow- 
ing mother  to  try  to  comfort  her;  nor 
could  I  even  write  to  her  except  in  a 
brief  letter  which  the  prison  authorities 
must  read  before  allowing  it  to  pass. 

"That  was  pretty  trying,  you  will  be- 
lieve. So  I  know  how  to  sympathize  with 
you,"  said  I. 

"  Yes,  that  was  hard,"  said  the  rebellious 
mother.  "  But  was  she  your  only  daugh- 
ter ?  " 

"  No,  I  had  two  other  daughters ;  but 
she  was  my  loved  baby  daughter." 

"  But  my  baby  was  my  only  daughter, 
so  you  see  my  trial  is  greater  than  yours. 
You  had  your  other  daughters  to  love  and 
care  for.     I  have  none." 

"  Your  case  is  a  trying  one,"  I  said. 
"But  where  do  you  think  your  dear  baby 
is  now  ?  " 

"  In  Heaven,"  she  replied.  Every  stricken 
mother  is  glad  to  believe  that  truth,  how- 
ever she  may  lack  confidence  in  God's  love. 

74 


®ur  Besices,  instead  of  0oD'6  ILove 

"  Do  you  suppose  she  is  happy  in 
Heaven  ?  " 

"  I  don't  doubt  she  is." 

"  Do  you  think  it  tends  to  make  your 
dear  baby  happier,  or  gives  her  pain,  to 
know  that  you  are  grieving  that  God  has 
taken  her  to  himself,  and  made  her  so 
happy  because  he  loves  her  and  loves 
you?" 

At  this  question  the  young  mother 
turned  on  her  bed  with  a  start,  and,  look- 
ing at  me  earnestly,  said,  "  Do  you  sup- 
pose that  my  baby  now  knows  anything 
about  me  and  my  feelings  ?  " 

*'Why  shouldn't  she?"  I  asked.  "If 
she  is  in  Heaven,  with  all  the  enlarged  pos- 
sibilities of  that  state,  loved  of  God  and 
loving  God,  why  shouldn't  she  have  an 
interest  in  those  whom  God  loves,  and  to 
whom  she  is  bound  by  precious  and  spirit- 
ual ties  ?  " 

At  once  the  relations  of  myself  and 
the  interested  mother  were  on  a  different 
plane.     She  was  glad   to  think  and  talk 

75 


Mow  to  5)cal  witb  2)oubts 

about  her  little  one,  and  its  possible  con- 
dition in  Heaven.  The  more  we  talked 
the  more  comfort  the  mother  found  in 
what  she  still  had,  in  love  and  hope,  with 
her  darling  in  God's  presence.  At  the 
thought  that  her  dear  little  girl  was  simply 
away  from  her  for  a  season,  having  more 
of  happiness  and  profit  than  would  have 
been  possible  to  her  had  she  remained 
here,  the  temporary  separation  could  not 
only  be  borne,  but  could  be  seen  in  a 
bright  light. 

When  I  left,  the  mother  who  had  had 
no  wish  for  my  call  asked  me  to  come 
again  and  continue  the  conversation.  God 
was  seen  in  a  new  light  when  his  love  was 
made  prominent  even  in  the  event  that  had 
seemed  wholly  dark  before.  I  went  to  that 
home  again  and  again,  and  the  mother  and 
the  father  of  the  little  one  in  Heaven  were 
glad  to  draw  nearer  to  Him  with  whom 
their  darling  was  forever  in  joy.  Together 
they  soon  stood  up  in  the  same  church 
fold  and  confessed  the  Saviour  of  their  little 

1^ 


©ur  Bestres,  ingteaD  ot  (3oD'0  Xove 

one  as  their  Saviour.  How  much  differ- 
ence it  makes  when  we  look  at  God's  provi- 
dence in  the  Hght  of  his  boundless  love, 
instead  of  in  the  Hght  of  our  poorly  in- 
formed personal  desires ! 

The  mistake  which  that  bereaved  mother 
made  in  thinking  of  her  baby  daughter 
who  had  been  taken  from  her  when  she 
longed  to  have  her  grow  up  in  her  earthly 
home,  is  made  by  many  another  person 
who  prefers  to  look  at  every  trying  provi- 
dence in  the  light  of  one's  personal  wishes, 
instead  of  in  the  light  of  God's  bound- 
less and  all-seeing  love.  How  common 
it  is  to  want  to  have  God  consider  us  as 
the  center  around  which  the  universe  re- 
volves, instead  of  our  thinking  of  God  as 
the  center  whose  love  and  dealings  we 
should  look  to  as  indicating  our  duty  and 
privileges !  Ourselves  first,  God  as  con- 
forming to  our  wishes ;  that  is  the  way  we 
would  have  things. 

A  Christian  woman,  who  was  active 
and  useful  in  Christ's  service,  had  a  loved 

n 


Mow  to  2)eal  witb  5)oubt6 

home  where  were  a  godly  father  and  a 
saintly  mother.  The  years  passed  on,  and 
precious  memories  accumulated  in  that 
home.  The  present  was  so  delightful,  and 
the  past  was  so  sacred,  that  there  seemed 
no  place  for  thought  of,  or  longings  for, 
anything  better,  or  even  anything  as  good, 
yet  to  come.  Continuance,  not  change, 
was  desired.  But  in  ripe  old  age  father 
and  mother  passed  out  of  that  home  into 
endless  rest.  The  devoted  daughter  in 
maturity  of  years  was  called  to  a  new  life 
for  which  she  had  not  made  full  prepa- 
ration. She  missed  those  to  whose  com- 
panionship she  had  been  accustomed  all 
her  life  long.  This  change  was  a  shock  to 
her  that  seemed  to  break  her  down,  and 
to  destroy  her  faith  and  her  present  enjoy- 
ment. 

It  mattered  not  in  this  case  that  the 
event  was  one  which  should  have  been 
looked  for  in  the  ordinary  course  of  nature. 
Reason  as  well  as  faith  is  likely  to  be  lost 
sight  of  by  one  who  is  inclined  to  complain 

78 


©ur  DcsireSt  instead  ot  ©oO's  Xovc 

of  God  and  God's  dealings.  Self  was  the 
center  of  thought  in  this  case  as  in  many 
another.  No  way  of  looking  at  it  seemed 
to  lessen  the  trial  of  one  who  would  have 
God  plan  and  perform  for  the  personal  ease 
and  enjoyment  of  the  complainer.  Con- 
tentment was  out  of  the  question;  even 
resignation  or  submission  had  no  place  in 
mind  or  heart.  The  stricken  one  ceased  to 
pray.  Intercourse  seemed  to  be  cut  off 
with  God,  since  he  had  ceased  to  shape  his 
doings  according  to  her  personal  longings. 
As  I  had  long  known  this  home  and 
all  its  inmates,  I  earnestly  sought  to  give 
sympathy  and  help  in  this  time  of  need. 
But  as  I  talked  I  found  that  the  main 
thought  then  was  of  the  home  life  inter- 
rupted, when  God  knew  that  the  desire 
was  to  have  it  continued.  Then  I  sought 
to  turn  the  thought  to  the  new  happi- 
ness of  the  parents,  taken  from  all  the 
trials  and  toils  of  earth,  and  of  our  reason 
for  thankfulness  that  they  were  such  gain- 
ers, although  we  had  some  trials  in  con- 

79 


Mow  to  Deal  witb  Boubts 

nection  with  this  providence.  Thus  an- 
other phase  of  persistent  doubting  showed 
itself.    This  was  suggestive. 

"  Do  you  doubt  that  your  parents  are  hap- 
pier now  than  they  could  be  here?  "  I  asked. 

"  No,  I  do  not ;  but  they  would  have  re- 
mained here  longer  if  the  choice  had  been 
given  them,  and  they  knew  it  would  make 
me  unhappy  to  live  without  them." 

"  If  they  look  down  on  you  now  in  your 
complaining  spirit,  do  you  suppose  that 
they  would  be  glad,  or  sorry,  that  you  feel 
as  you  do  ?  " 

"  I  know  they  would  be  sorry." 

"  Ought  you  to  be  willing  to  make  them 
sorry  ?  or  ought  you  to  do  what  you  can  to 
increase  their  joy  ?  " 

"  They  understand  me  well  enough  to 
know  that  I  couldn't  feel  otherwise." 

Seeing  this  persistent  way  of  looking  at 
the  one  side  of  the  case,  and  knowing  of 
the  complaining,  rebellious,  and  prayerless 
course  of  the  mourner,  I  held  up  another 
thought  to  be  considered. 

80 


Q\xt  Desires,  instead  ot  <3oD's  Xove 

"  If  God  were  to  take  you  from  this  life, 
wouldn't  you  like  to  join  your  parents  in 
God's  presence,  and  be  with  them  ever- 
more?" 

"  Of  course  I  would." 
"Are  you  in  a  state  to  do  so  now?" 
"  I  know  they'd  be  glad  to  welcome  me." 
"  Yes ;  but  tkey  do  not  open  or  close  the 
doors  of  Heaven  to  any  soul.    That  is  God's 
work.     Are  you  not  now  opposing   God, 
complaining  of  God,  defying  God  ?     Why 
should  God  take  you  where  your  parents 
are,  when  you  feel  toward  God  as  you  say 
you  do?" 

That  was  a  new  thought  to  the  com- 
plaining doubter.  Thinking  of  it  a  few 
minutes  she  inquired : 

"  How  can  I  feel  differently?" 
"Admit  that  God  has  been  doing  the 
best  he  could  do,  even  if  he  has  done  dif- 
ferently from  what  you  would  have  pre- 
ferred or  advised.  Remember  that  God 
has  some  rights  as  well  as  some  power, 
and,  if  you  cannot  pray  to  him  gratefully, 

8i 


IKow  to  2)cal  witb  2)oubt5 

at  least  go  to  him  submissively,  and  tell 
him  that  you  want  to  conform  yourself  to 
his  known  will,  and  to  come  into  a  state 
that  will  fit  you  to  be  like  your  parents  as 
you  knew  them  while  they  were  here,  and 
as  he  knows  them  where  they  now  are. 

"  Such  a  course,  you  may  be  sure,  would 
be  approved  by  your  parents,  whom  you 
say  you  do  love,  and  by  God,  whom  they 
love,  and  whom  you  ought  to  love  more 
than  you  do.  Any  other  course  is  an- 
tagonism to  your  father  and  mother,  and  to 
their  and  your  God." 

After  talking  this  view  of  the  case  over, 
it  was  admitted  that  it  was  a  proper  view. 
And  when  once  the  thoughts  were  turned 
from  self  as  the  center  to  God  as  the  only 
true  center,  it  was  a  simple  matter  to  learn 
that  light  is  better  than  darkness,  love  is 
better  than  discord,  right  is  better  than 
wrong ;  and  that  what  we  ought  to  do  is 
better  than  what  we  are  sometimes  tempted 
to  do. 


82 


X 

ts  Xacft  of  IRigbt  ffeellng  a  ^Barrier 
to  IRtgbt  Hctton? 

Men  who  know  their  duty,  and  who  fail 
to  do  it,  often  console  themselves  with  the 
idea  that  they  will  at  least  not  claim  to  be 
on  the  right  side  when  they  are  not  there 
in  reality.  They  think  that  right  feeling 
is  more  important  than  right  action^  and  if 
they  do  not  have  the  first,  it  is  only  an 
added  evil  for  them  to  attempt  the  second. 
They  make  the  great  mistake  of  supposing 
that  hypocrisy  is  somehow  worse  than 
bare-faced,  defiant  villainy;  that,  unless 
one  really  is  in  all  things  on  the  right  side, 
it  is  wrong  for  him  to  express  any  sym- 
pathy with  those  who  are  there. 

It  is  a  man's  duty  to  show  approval  of, 
and  sympathy  with,  the  right,  even  if  he  be 
not  ready  to  act  always  on  that  side.  The 
other  view  of  the  case  is,  indeed,  the  mistake 

83 


Mow  to  5)eal  witb  Doubts 

of  many  a  person  who  has  been  led  astray 
in  his  conduct,  while  his  inner  life  and  heart 
impulses  are  in  the  direction  of  the  right. 

A  young  man  who  had  been  well  trained 
at  home,  and  who  had  enjoyed  himself  in 
Christian  life  and  its  activities,  was  for  a 
time  in  *'  border  life,"  under  evil  influences 
in  a  community  of  reckless  wrong-doers. 
He  yielded  to  his  surroundings,  and  went 
sadly  astray.  Then  he  was  again  in  the 
society  of  Christian  people,  where  religious 
life  was  prominent  and,  in  a  sense,  popular. 
The  young  man  was  naturally  drawn  to- 
wards this  better  life,  so  like  that  in  which 
he  had  been  brought  up  and  in  which  he 
knew  he  should  be  happier.  Yet  he  said 
to  himself,  when  he  saw  the  church-goers 
leaving  their  homes  and  going  to  the  house 
of  prayer,  and  was  inclined  to  join  them: 

"  No;  I  know  I've  gone  sadly  astray,  but 
I'm  not  yet  a  hypocrite.  If  I  should  go  to 
church  as  if  I  were  a  church-going  man,  it 
would  seem  as  if  I  wanted  to  pass  myself 
off  as  a  well-doer, — which  I  know  I  am  not. 

84 


tRiQbt  3Fecl(nQ  a  :©arrier  to  IRiabt  Bctionl 

I  must  first  get  myself  right,  so  that  I  feel 
right ;  then  it  will  be  time  enough  for  me 
to  act  as  if  I  were  right." 

So  that  young  man,  who  had  been 
trained  to  both  feel  right  and  do  right, 
deliberately  postponed  doing  what  he  ad- 
mitted was  in  the  line  of  right-doing  be- 
cause he  had  not  yet  resolved  to  do  right 
and  feel  right  in  all  things.  His  clear  duty 
to  act  as  if  he  approved  of  right-doing  was 
neglected,  while  he  hoped  that,  sometime, 
he  would  do  right.  And  in  this  he  made 
a  sad  mistake. 

His  mistake  in  this  one  thing  at  this 
testing-time  led  to  similar  mistakes  on  his 
part  in  many  another  thing.  Even  when 
he  had  broken  away  from  the  evil  in- 
fluences which  led  him  into  more  flagrant 
acts  of  wrong-doing,  and  sought  to  con- 
form himself  to  the  limits  of  well-doing  in 
outer  conduct,  he  still  thought  that  it  was 
not  right  to  go  to  the  communion  service, 
or  to  a  prayer-meeting,  or  to  have  a  part  in 
any  religious  gathering,  while  his  feelings 

85 


Wow  to  Deal  witb  Doubts 

were  not  as  they  should  be.  He  made  his 
personal  feelings  on  the  subject  the  test 
of  his  duty  to  begin  with,  rather  than  his 
consciousness  of  the  right,  in  view  of  God's 
commands  and  his  providential  surround- 
ings in  the  church  and  the  community. 

Then  it  was  that  I  sought  to  show  him 
his  error  in  giving  such  prominence  to  feel- 
ing rather  than  conduct  in  his  course  of 
life.  As  I  talked  with  him  on  this  subject, 
I  asked  the  young  man  : 

"  Did  you  never  feel  very  angry  with 
somebody  who  had  wronged  you  —  so 
angry  that,  at  the  time,  you  were  inclined 
to  injure  your  opponent  by  harming  him 
or  by  destroying  his  property  ?  " 

"  Oh,  I  have  felt  so  at  times !  " 

"  What  was  the  right  course  for  you  to 
pursue — to  do  what  you  knew  to  be  right,  or 
to  do  what  you  felt  at  the  time  like  doing?" 

"  Of  course,  I  ought  to  have  done  right, 
however  I  felt." 

"Then  your  feelings  were  not  a  safe 
guide  for  your  action  at  such  time?" 

86 


IRiQbt  Jfceling  a  JBarrier  to  IRtabt  Bctionl 

"  Certainly  not  my  feelings  for  the  time." 

"  All  feelings  are  for  the  time.  Feelings, 
which  are  liable  to  change,  are  one  thing. 
Convictions,  which  are  not  fleeting  and 
temporary,  are  another  thing." 

At  another  time  I  asked  the  young  man : 

"  Suppose  you  were  started  up  from  a 
sound  sleep  in  the  middle  of  the  night  by 
a  consciousness  of  a  fire  in  the  house,  that 
was  liable  to  destroy  the  building  or  to 
cost  precious  lives,  what  would  be  your 
first  feeling  ?  " 

"  I  might  be  tempted  to  go  to  sleep 
again,  or  not  to  heed  the  first  call,  for  I'm 
a  sound  sleeper." 

"  Which  course  would  be  the  right  one 
for  you  to  pursue — ought  you  to  yield  to 
your  feelings,  or  to  go  against  them  at  the 
cost  of  comfort  or  personal  safety  ?  " 

"  I  ought  to  get  up,  of  course,  whether 
I  felt  like  it  or  not." 

"  I  knew  you  would  think  so,  and  in  the 
end  you  would  feel  so." 

And  so  in  other  illustrations : 
87 


Wow  to  2)eal  witb  Boubts 

"  In  case  of  a  public  election,  what  ought 
to  be  your  guide  of  duty, — your  personal 
feelings  on  the  subject,  or  your  conscious- 
ness of  the  way  the  result  would  affect  the 
community?" 

"  I  ought  to  act  in  view  of  the  conse- 
quences to  others." 

"  If  a  church  meeting  were  to  be  held  for 
the  calling  of  a  pastor,  or  for  the  taking  of 
action  on  a  new  mission  about  to  be  started, 
and  you  had  a  vote,  ought  you  to  exercise 
your  right  of  voting,  even  though  you  had 
been  shrinking  from  seeming  to  assume  a 
right  Christian  spirit  ?  " 

"  Claiming  a  legal  right  to  vote,  even  in 
the  church,  is  different  from  claiming  to 
have  a  proper  spirit  when  going  to  the 
communion  table,  or  attending  a  prayer- 
meeting." 

"  Feeling  right  is  your  duty ;  but  acting 
right  is  also  your  duty.  If  you  cannot  do 
both,  you  should  do  that  which  you  can 
do.  In  the  long  run  you  are  more  likely 
to  feel  right  by  doing  right,  whether  you 

88 


IRiQbt  Reeling  a  JBarricr  to  IRiabt  BctionT 

like  it  or  not,  than  by  neglecting  your 
known  duty  until  you  may  feel  like  do- 
ing it." 

"I  think  you  are  right  about  that.  I 
know  that  when  I  kept  away  from  church, 
out  on  the  border,  I  used  to  feel  that  I  was 
losing  ground  as  I  saw  the  people  going 
by  me  to  the  church  while  I  was  waiting 
to  feel  right.  I  was  losing  in  right  feeling 
all  the  time.  I  am  glad  to  have  had  this 
talk  on  the  subject.  I  think  it  would  be 
better  to  do  one's  duty,  however  one  feels 
about  it." 

Feeling  right  is  a  duty,  and  it  ought  to 
be  attended  to.  But  doing  right  is  also  a 
duty,  and  it  has  a  constant  claim  on  one, 
even  if  for  the  time  the  feelings  and  im- 
pulses run  in  the  other  direction.  A  man 
ought  to  feel  kindly  toward  those  whom 
he  meets  and  with  whom  he  speaks.  But, 
if  he  cannot  feel  kindly,  he  ought  at  least 
to  look  and  speak  kindly  without  reference 
to  his  feelings.  A  man  who  fails  to  act  on 
this  principle  makes  a  sad  mistake. 

89 


XI 

Uroubleb  IBecause  ffiuMna  5110 
Bnjoi^ment  In  praper 

An  active,  earnest,  devoted  Christian 
worker  was  disturbed  because  she  did  not 
always  find  enjoyment  in  prayer.  She  did 
not  intermit  nor  neglect  prayer ;  hence  her 
state  of  feeling,  or  of  her  lack  of  feeling, 
was  not  a  result  of  her  failure  to  be  regular 
and  faithful  in  her  attention  to  this  duty. 
But  when  the  hour  for  prayer  came  she  did 
not  always  heartily  welcome  it,  nor  regularly 
and  really  enjoy  its  privileges.  This  was  a 
cause  of  grief  to  her,  and  she  sincerely 
sought  to  find  the  reason  for  this,  and  to 
learn  what  it  indicated.  She  asked  herself, 
"  Is  this  a  proof  of  my  spiritual  decline  ? 
Ought  I  not  to  be  at  all  times  in  such  an 
attitude  of  spirit  that  it  would  be,  not  only 
my  duty  and  privilege,  but  an  occasion  of 
conscious  enjoyment  to  me,  to  go  to  my 

90 


yfnDlng  Iflo  Bnjosment  in  praigcr 

Father  and  tell  him  of  my  needs  and  de- 
sires, and  confidently  to  ask  his  sympathy 
and  help  ?  Would  not  this  be  the  case  if 
I  realized  my  duties  and  necessities  as  they 
are,  and  my  Father's  love  as  it  is  ?  " 

In  her  perplexity  of  mind  over  this  mat- 
ter, the  disciple  came  with  her  trouble  to 
me  for  judgment  and  counsel,  and,  stating 
the  case  to  me,  she  asked  me  to  tell  her 
frankly  if  the  lack  was  in  her  spiritual  con- 
dition, and,  if  so,  how  it  was  to  be  reme- 
died. I,  knowing  her  earnestness  of  Chris- 
tian character,  and  seeing  her  trouble  as  it 
was,  said  to  her  : 

"  According  to  your  own  statement  of 
the  case,  your  trouble  is  a  physical  one. 
You  say  you  do  not  have  enough  of  physi- 
cal feeling  about  the  matter,  although  you 
have  not  changed  your  opinions  about 
your  duty  or  privilege.  The  lack  you 
lament  is  a  lack  of  physical  emotion  or 
sensitiveness." 

"  No,  it  is  not  a  lack  of  physical  sensi- 
bility that   I  lament ;  it  is  spiritual  sensi- 

91 


Mow  to  2)eal  witb  Boubts 

tiveness  that  I  should  have  in  this  matter. 
Prayer  is  a  spiritual  exercise." 

"  Yes,  but  you  are  still  in  the  body,  and 
fatigue,  exhaustion,  and  other  conditions  of 
the  body,  affect  the  spirit  within  the  body. 
Being  faithful  and  persistent  in  prayer  is 
one  thing,  having  enjoyment  in  that  exer- 
cise is  another  thing.  One  shows  the  spir- 
itual state,  the  other  shows  the  physical 
condition.  When  Jesus  was  in  Gethsem- 
ane,  he  asked  his  chosen  disciples  to  watch 
with  him  while  he  prayed.  But  they  fell 
asleep,  and  that  more  than  once.  Yet 
Jesus  did  not  count  John  as  lacking  in  love 
for  him.  He  saw  that  what  might  seem  to 
be  a  lowered  spiritual  tone  was  really  an 
exhausted  physical  condition,  and  he  said, 
*  The  spirit  indeed  is  willing,  but  the  flesh 
is  weak.*  While  we  are  in  the  flesh,  the 
conditions  of  the  spirit  are  affected  by  the 
conditions  and  surroundings  of  the  flesh. 
Yet  the  spirit  is  lovingly  considered  by  Him 
who  knows  us  as  we  are.  He  sees  it  as  it 
is  rather  than  as  it  seems.     And  we  must 

92 


^inDin^  Hlo  JBnjo^mcnt  tn  ipra^ec 

try  to  look  at  ourselves  according  to  the 
same  standard." 

The  one  whose  mind  was  troubled  be- 
cause of  her  lack  of  enjoyment  in  prayer 
seemed  to  gain  from  this  view  of  the  case. 
As  other  behevers  have  been  similarly 
troubled,  there  may  be  a  gain  through  its 
further  considering. 

Enjoyment,  or  a  sense  of  enjoyment,  is 
largely  dependent  on  one's  physical  condi- 
tion. We  cannot  have  a  sense,  or  a  con- 
sciousness, of  positive  enjoyment  while  in 
excruciating  pain,  nor  while  in  utter  exhaus- 
tion, and  unable  to  frame  words  or  to  think 
consecutively.  Yet  even  at  such  times 
one's  spirit  can  be  just  as  truly  faithful  and 
devoted  and  loving  as  at  any  other  time. 
One  may  be  in  spirit  at  such  times  as  truly 
a  good  father  or  mother,  or  as  loving  a 
brother  or  sister  or  child,  or  as  devoted  a 
friend,  or  as  self-sacrificing  a  patriot,  or  as 
consecrated  a  missionary,  as  while  thrilling 
in  every  nerve  with  keenest  enjoyment  of 
the  sacred  privileges  of  the  relation  in  which 

93 


IHow  to  5)eal  witb  2)oulJt6 

he  or  she  is  honored.  The  spirit  of  the 
relation  is  one  thing,  the  sense  or  con- 
scious feehng  of  enjoyment  in  that  relation 
is  quite  another  thing. 

This  applies  to  all  spheres  and  practices 
in  human  life.  Even  in  the  primal  and 
fundamental  necessity  of,  and  desire  for, 
food  and  drink,  it  is  much  as  it  is  in  the 
higher  and  more  ethereal  cravings  of  our 
nature, — as  for  human  affection  and  for 
human  approval.  So  soon  as  a  child  comes 
to  life,  it  comes  to  a  craving  for  nourish- 
ment It  must  have  nourishment  because 
it  lives,  and  if  it  would  continue  to  live. 
An  enjoyment  in  having  this  craving  metis 
as  natural  to  a  normal  child  as  is  the  crav- 
ing itself  And  so  on  as  one  grows  from 
childhood  to  maturity.  But  it  is  often  the 
case  that  one  comes  to  lack  the  conscious 
desire  for  food,  or  the  conscious  enjoyment 
in  the  meeting  or  satisfying  of  this  desire. 
Yet  this  lack  of  conscious  desire  or  of  en- 
joyment is  wholly  physical,  and  in  no  sense 
spiritual.     While  I  was  in  full  health  and 

94 


jfinDitiQ  mo  jenjogmcnt  in  prater 

vigor,  I  had,  long  years  ago,  through  my 
army  experience,  and  by  my  prolonged 
travel  in  desert  and  woods,  come  to  do 
without  a  craving  for  food  at  regular  times. 
In  consequence,  I  could  go  all  day  without 
a  sense  of  special  desire  for  food.  Yet  I 
had  the  need  of,  apart  from  the  desire  for, 
nourishment.  I  would  grow  steadily  weak 
from  my  lack,  even  while  my  long  training 
had  overcome  my  sense  of  desire  for  food 
at  regular  intervals.  I  could,  in  fact,  starve 
to  death  without  being  hungry.  Yet  I  was 
watchful  of  my  needs  and  duty,  and  I  took 
nourishment  regularly  at  specified  times. 
My  lack  of  desire  was  a  physical  lack  ;  but 
my  having  a  care  to  take  needful  food  regu- 
larly, and  my  gratitude  for  this  privilege, 
evidenced  so  far  my  good  spiritual  condition. 
So,  again,  a  loving  Christian  worker 
whom  I  knew,  whose  whole  time  was  given 
to  Christ,  was  by  disease  incapacitated  from 
enjoyment  in  partaking  of  food.  Each  day 
his  taking  of  the  needful  supply  was  a  season 
of  intense  pain.    He  shrank  from  it ;  he  suf- 

95 


Wow  to  Deal  witb  5)oubt6 

fered  during  it ;  it  was  to  him  only  an  occa- 
sion of  unnatural  effort.  Yet  he  persevered 
through  all,  and  this  that  he  might  have  a 
little  more  physical  strength  for  added 
spiritual  work  for  his  Master  and  for  his 
dear  ones.  Rarely  have  I  known  one  who 
showed  such  high  spiritual  devotion,  in 
taking  needful  physical  food  without  any 
resultant  or  incidental  enjoyment  in  connec- 
tion with  it,  as  this  noble  sufferer.  And 
he  was  but  an  illustration  of  the  complete 
separation  of  duty-doing  as  a  spiritual  exer- 
cise, and  of  physical  enjoyment  in  connec- 
tion with  that  exercise. 

Similarly  in  the  matter  of  taking  needful 
physical  exercise  in  the  open  air.  A  will- 
ingness to  perform  the  duty  is  one  thing, 
finding  enjoyment  in  that  duty  is  another 
thing.  The  two  things  should  not  be  con- 
founded. A  man  who  in  his  normal  con- 
dition was  peculiarly  active,  and  seemed  to 
enjoy  exercise,  had  been  so  weakened  by 
an  extended  illness  that  in  his  convales- 
cence he  found  most  pleasure    in    indoor 

96 


JfinOiiiQ  mo  lenjo^mcnt  in  ipragcc 

occupations.  His  physician  then  directed 
him  to  take  exercise  out  of  doors. 

"  But,  doctor,  I  have  no  desire  to  go 
out,"  said  the  patient.  "  My  enjoyment  is 
found  in  my  room.  I  have  lost  my  old 
pleasure  in  being  in  the  open  air." 

"  It  is  not  a  question  as  to  what  you  en- 
joy or  desire,"  said  the  wise  physician ;  "  I 
want  you  to  go  out  because  I  think  it  is 
best  for  you.  You  should  make  the  effort 
for  your  own  good,  even  if  it  is  an  unpleas- 
ant effort  to  you." 

And  that  case  is  an  illustration  of  many 
cases  in  life  as  life  is.  The  doing  of  duty  is 
one  thing,  finding  enjoyment  while  doing 
one's  duty  is  quite  another  thing.  Doing 
as  duty  what  one  cannot  find  enjoyment  in 
doing  is  often  a  test  of  manhood,  and  is 
sometimes  an  evidence  of  sainthood.  In 
one's  school  studies,  and  in  one's  maturest 
exercise  of  high  scholarship,  it  is  often 
necessary  to  pore  over  books  that  one  can 
find  no  enjoyment  in.  Much  of  our  social 
intercourse  has  to  be  with  persons  in  whom 

97 


Wow  to  2)eal  witb  5)oulJts 

we  can  find  no  enjoyment.  Indeed,  it  is 
oftener  our  duty  to  do  that  which  we  do 
not  find  pleasure  in  than  that  which  is  in 
itself  to  our  liking.  This  being  the  case, 
our  true  attitude  of  spirit  is  better  shown 
by  our  perseverance  in  duty-doing  while 
we  lack  enjoyment  or  a  sense  of  pleasure 
in  a  given  occupation,  than  in  our  doing  of 
that  in  which  we  find  the  highest  enjoy- 
ment. 

It  is  true  that,  if  we  persevere  in  right- 
doing  while  we  have  no  pleasure  or  en- 
joyment in  it,  we  may  come  to  find  added 
enjoyment  in  that  very  occupation.  But 
that  is  a  result  and  reward  of  doing  our  duty 
while  we  found  no  pleasure  in  such  doing. 
We  should  not  be  disturbed  because  we  do 
not  have  the  full  result  of  our  best  duty- 
doing  at  the  beginning,  or  all  the  way  along 
in  our  progress. 


98 


XII 

Tunable  to  Believe  in  nntracles 

As  a  general  thing,  a  man  who  says  he 
does  not  believe  in  miracles  has  no  well  de- 
fined idea  of  what  he  is  talking  about.  He 
does  not  know  just  what  he  does  believe, 
or  just  what  he  does  not  believe,  in  that 
sphere.  Ordinarily  he  is  simply  express- 
ing an  inclination  to  doubt  something  that 
he  does  not  understand,  without  having 
fixed  in  his  own  mind  the  limits  of  the  be- 
lief or  of  the  unbelief  he  is  talking  about. 
Many  a  Bible  reader  of  to-day  seems  to  be 
as  poorly  informed  in  this  matter  as  Bishop 
Colenso  or  as  Ernest  Renan,  both  of  whom, 
in  their  books  of  unbelief,  made  blunders 
in  referring  to  the  claims  and  statements  of 
the  Bible  text  that  would  be  unworthy  of 
the  average  pupil  in  the  junior  department 
of  a  well-conducted  Sunday-school.  To 
say  that  one  does  not  believe  in  miracles  is 

99 


Mow  to  Deal  witb  Doubts 

to  suggest  that  the  doubter  lacks  an  under- 
standing of  himself,  and  of  what  he  is  talk- 
ing about. 

One  of  these  doubters  said  to  me  as  a 
probable  believer : 

"  I  value  the  Bible  for  the  truths  it 
teaches,  and  for  its  wise  counsel  as  to  im- 
portant duties.  But  I  am  free  to  say  that 
I  do  not  believe  in  the  Bible  stories  of 
miracles.  I  count  those  as  Oriental  fic- 
tions, not  to  be  taken  as  reasonable  fact." 

"  Do  you  refer  to  any  particular  narra- 
tion in  the  Bible  as  incredible,  or  are  you 
making  a  general  statement?*' 

"  I  mean  that  I  do  not  believe  in  such  a 
thing  as  a  miracle.  I  believe  that  all  things 
are  within  the  course  of  the  known  laws  of 
nature.  Any  event  claimed  as  outside  of 
the  laws  of  nature  is  not  to  be  accepted  as 
true.     I  cannot  believe  it" 

"  Then  you  do  not  believe  in  any  future 
state — any  continued  existence  after  this 
life?" 

"  Yes,  I  do  believe  in  that  as  probable, 
loo 


Tunable  to  Believe  in  nUitacled 

although  yet  unproved.  But  that  is  in  an- 
other realm  than  this.  In  another  life  the 
laws  of  nature  as  we  now  understand  them 
may  not  limit  all  possibilities." 

"  Then  you  are  willing  to  admit  that 
there  may  be  in  the  universe  possibilities 
beyond  what  we  now  call  the  laws  of 
nature  ?  But  you  are  confident  that  God 
never  permitted  any  child  of  his,  whether 
Moses,  or  Joshua,  or  Elisha,  or  even  Jesus, 
to  exert  any  power  in  God's  service  except 
within  the  limits  of  nature's  forces  as  we 
perceive  them.  Is  that  what  I  understand 
to  be  your  claim? " 

**  In  a  sense,  that  is  what  I  believe." 
"  Is  it  not  possible  that  some  of  God's 
servants  of  old  were  familiar  with,  or  were 
directed  to  act  in  accordance  with,  the 
workings  of  natural  forces,  in  ways  that 
seemed  wonderful  or  more  than  natural  to 
observers  of  then,  yet  which  are  well  un- 
derstood to-day  in  the  light  of  modern  re- 
search and  of  scientific  discoveries?  For 
example,  the  crossing  of  the  Red  Sea  by 

loi 


IKow  to  2)eal  witb  Doubts 

the  Israelites ;  the  overthrow  of  the  walls 
of  Jericho  by  the  marching  host ;  the  going 
forward  or  backward  of  the  shadow  on  the 
dial  in  the  days  of  Hezekiah — as  explained 
by  Professor  R.  A.  Proctor;  and  various 
other  Bible  wonders." 

"  Of  course,  I  am  ready  to  admit  that 
any  event  called  a  miracle  in  the  Bible 
that  is  shown  in  the  light  of  modern  dis- 
covery to  have  been  within  the  scope  of  the 
laws  of  nature  can  be  accepted  as  true. 
But  those  are  exceptional  cases.  What  I 
disbelieve  are  the  unnatural  or  supernatural 
miracles,  of  which  there  are  so  many  in  the 
Bible  narrative." 

"Yet  all  these  miracles  which  are  ex- 
plained to  us  by  modern  science  had  their 
supernatural  side  or  phase  shown  in  the 
Divine  directions  or  interposition  given  as 
to  time  or  place,  which  unaided  men  could 
not  have  known  about." 

"  I  believe  that  God  often  gives  to  a  child 
of  his  a  prompting  or  guidance  that  may 
affect   his   most  important  interests.     Yet 

1 02 


mnable  to  Mclicvc  in  flQitacled 

these  are  always  in  the  line  of  the  laws  or 
forces  of  nature." 

"Yes,  the  Bible  miracles  differ  from 
other  Oriental  wonders  in  that  the  latter  are 
unnatural,  while  the  former  are  simply 
supernatural, — directed  from  above  nature. 
It  is  in  this  that  the  Bible  miracles  are 
wholly  unlike  such  stories  as  those  in  the 
Arabian  Nights  and  other  Oriental  works. 
The  Bible  miracles  are  never  unnatural,  or 
anti-natural,  while  they  evidence  a  super- 
natural power, — a  power  above  nature." 

"But  I  do  not  think  that  there  is  any 
place  for  a  special  *  miracle '  in  our  present 
sphere,  when  God's  ordinary  laws  are 
operative  under  his  control,  and  in  accord- 
ance with  his  plans." 

"  Are  you  sure  you  know  what  you  mean 
when  you  say  'miracle*?  At  least  three 
different  Hebrew  and  two  Greek  words 
are  in  the  common  version  of  the  Bible 
translated  'miracle.'  These  words  mean 
severally  *  a  wonder,'  '  something  wonder- 
ful,' 'an  act  of  power,'  'a  sign.'     Do  you 

103 


Mow  to  Deal  wttb  Doubts 

deny  or  doubt  that  Moses  or  Joshua  or 
Elijah,  or  that  Jesus,  in  some  cases  per- 
formed wonders,  or  did  acts  of  power,  or 
wrought  what  were  signs  or  tokens  of  their 
representative  character  or  mission?  " 

"  Of  course  I  do  not.  I  have  never 
doubted  that." 

**  Then  you  do  not  mean  that  you  deny 
or  doubt  all  *  miracles '  in  the  strictest 
meaning  of  the  words  thus  translated  in 
the  Bible?" 

"  I  admit  that  there  is  an  ambiguity  as 
to  the  meaning  of  the  word  'miracle,'  as 
ordinarily  used." 

"  Yes,  it  is  evident  that  you,  like  a  great 
many  other  doubters,  including  Bishop 
Colenso  and  Ernest  Renan,  and  even  men 
who  are  called  scholars  and  thinkers,  and 
who  would  not  want  to  be  called  culpably 
careless  or  ignorant  as  writers  or  speakers, 
have  used  pivotal  words  with  reference  to 
important  truths  that  do  not  mean,  or  even 
fairly  indicate,  your  views  or  position  as  to 
Bible  truth." 

104 


TUnable  to  ^Believe  in  flRitaclea 

"  But  I  used  the  English  word  *  miracle ;' 
and  I  intended  it  to  be  understood  in  the 
sense  in  which  that  word  is  commonly,  or 
popularly,  used.  I  do  not  believe  in  mira- 
cles in  the  sense  of  something  not  to  be 
accounted  for  in  the  ordinary  or  established 
workings  of  the  course  of  nature,  and 
claimed  to  be  wrought  by  the  direct  exer- 
cise or  intervention  of  divine  power.  Such 
miracles  I  cannot  believe  in,  even  if  they 
are  recorded  in  the  Bible." 

"  Yet  you  have  said  that  events  recorded 
in  the  Bible,  which  seemed  at  the  time  to 
be  miraculous,  and  which  in  the  light  of 
then  you  could  not  have  believed,  have,  in 
the  progress  of  human  knowledge,  been 
shown  to  be  wholly  credible.  That  you 
still  admit." 

"  Of  course  I  do.  I  deny  the  claim  of 
events  that  are  not  to  be  accounted  for 
except  by  a  direct  interposition  of  divine 
power,  and  that  obviously  are  not  within 
the  established  order  of  nature.  Those  I 
cannot  accept." 

105 


Kow  to  Deal  witb  2)oubt« 

"  If  it  had  been  said  a  few  years  ago  that 
one  man  had  communicated  with  another 
at  a  distance  on  or  over  the  ocean  without 
a  connecting  wire  or  cable,  would  that 
have  been  counted  a  miracle  ?  " 

"With  our  knowledge  of  then,  we  should 
have  been  likely  to  say  that  it  was  claim- 
ing miraculous  power,  and  the  fact  might 
have  been  doubted  by  one  who  had  not 
positive  evidence  of  it." 

"  But  in  our  day  one  has  no  hesitation 
in  believing  it." 

"  Of  course  not." 

"  Is  your  claim,  then,  that  your  belief  as 
to  miracles  is  contingent  on  your  measure 
of  personal  knowledge,  or  on  evidence  that 
is  satisfactory  to  yourself,  with  an  explana- 
tion that  will  convince  you  as  to  the  forces 
of  nature  newly  brought  in  play  ?  In  other 
words,  that  your  measure  of  belief  in  the 
miraculous  is  a  sliding  scale,  which  de- 
pends on  your  growing  progress  in  ma- 
terial knowledge?  Must  you  be  prepared 
by  intellectual  attainments   for  any  fresh 

1 06 


Tunable  to  JBcllcvc  in  tniracles 

disclosure  of  God's  goodness  or  power 
before  you  can  accept  as  true  what  is 
claimed  by  others  as  a  result  of  science 
or  as  an  act  of  God's  love  and  power  ?  " 

"  I  am  glad  to  believe  that  I  am  con- 
stantly making  progress  in  knowledge  and 
faith.  I  see,  in  these  days,  the  reasonable- 
ness of  many  things  that  our  fathers  spoke 
of  as  miraculous r 

"  You  admit,  then,  that  your  doubt  about 
miracles  is  more  indefinite,  less  surely  lim- 
ited, than  you  counted  it  in  the  beginning 
of  our  conversation ;  that  it  has  changed 
from  time  to  time  in  the  past ;  and  that  it 
is  still  liable  to  change  in  certain  undis- 
closed particulars." 

"  Strictly  speaking,  that  may  be  so  as  to 
my  use  of  the  word.  But  I  say  confidently 
that  God's  course  in  nature  is  established ; 
that  God  does  not  interpose  his  special 
power  for  the  benefit  of  one  of  his  chil- 
dren in  the  manner  suggested  by  the 
word  'miracle,'  or  'miraculous.'  In  other 
words,  I  do  not  believe  in  special  or  par- 

107 


Wow  to  Deal  witb  JS)oubt:5 

ticular  providences  as  often  claimed  and 
pressed." 

"  It  seems  unnecessary  for  us  to  discuss 
this  question  any  farther.  It  is  pleasant  to 
know  that  you  believe  as  much  as  you  do 
in  God's  love  and  power  as  back  of  all 
the  workings  of  what  we  call  the  estab- 
lished or  ordinary  forces  of  nature.  Your 
present  doubt  seems  to  be  one  of  faith  and 
its  direction,  rather  than  as  to  the  miracu- 
lous in  the  sphere  of  human  activities.  As 
to  that,  we  differ  widely.  Not  wishing  to 
discuss  it,  I  desire  to  state  my  own  belief 
on  the  subject,  and  to  leave  that  before 
you  as  my  testimony  as  to  what  God  is  to 
me,  and  what  he  is  ready  to  be  to  whoever 
trusts  him. 

"With  God  there  is  neither  great  nor 
small.  His  providences,  as  affecting  us, 
are  both  general  and  particular.  In  him 
we  live,  and  move,  and  have  our  being. 
We  are  as  dependent  on  the  exercise  of 
God's  personal  power  for  the  next  breath 
we  draw  as  are  the  stars  in  the  courses 

1 08 


"Ulnablc  to  JBelicve  in  fHicaclcs 

dependent  on  his  keeping  in  play  the  great 
forces  of  the  universe.  In  the  Bible,  which 
tells  of  these  "  miracles  "  in  the  line  of  God's 
plans  for  his  children,  God  invites  us  to 
tell  him  of  our  needs,  and  to  trust  him 
for  their  full  supply.  Myriads  of  trusting 
souls  have  turned  to  him  in  their  time  of 
need,  and  have  had  those  promises  more 
than  made  good  to  them.  Of  course,  God 
employs  the  forces  of  the  universe  when 
he  would  answer  the  prayers  of  a  child  of 
his  who  in  faith  asks  for  help.  But  God 
is  not  limited  to  the  self-action  of  those 
forces.  God  has  at  least  as  much  power 
of  direction  as  a  telephone  operator  when 
he  uses  the  force  of  electricity  in  sending  a 
message  to  an  apothecary  for  a  vial  of 
spirits  of  ammonia  for  a  person  who  feels 
faint.  God  can  act  in  particular  cases  as 
well  as  in  sweeping  generalities.  He  has 
more  love  and  power  than  has  a  telegraph 
operator  or  an  electrician. 

"  Personally,  I  will  say  gratefully,  that, 
for  more  than  half  a  century  of  experience 

109 


Kow  to  5)eal  witb  5)oubt5 

in  the  Christian  hfe,  I  have  Hved  in  confi- 
dence in  those  specific  promises,  and  God 
has  never  failed  me.  More  surely  than  the 
most  devoted  father,  the  tenderest  mother, 
the  wisest  physician,  God  has  ministered 
to  me  in  supplying  me  with  specific  direc- 
tions, often  including  detailed  counsel,  not 
to  be  accounted  for  by  any  known  law  of 
nature, — directions  including  my  personal 
actions  and  the  course  of  others,  affecting 
my  life,  my  health,  my  business  affairs,  the 
interests  of  the  community.  These  were 
not  merely  remarkable  occurrences ;  they 
were  miracles,  events  out  of  the  known 
order,  and  wrought  by  the  intervention  of 
divine  power.  As  to  the  continuance  of 
this  mode  of  life  I  have  no  doubt,  while 
God  continues  to  be  God,  and  his  children 
continue  to  need  and  to  trust  him.  Does 
this  sound  '  miraculous '  ?     I  think  so." 


no 


XIII 

Wot  3Beltevtna  in  Hnp  Spiritual 
Biistence 

Unbelief,  or  non-faith,  is  more  or  less 
sweeping  according  as  a  man  knows  too 
much  or  too  little  to  rest  on  and  to  enjoy 
God's  disclosure  of  his  love  and  wisdom  as 
he  shows  himself  in  the  universe  and  as  he 
has  revealed  himself  in  his  Word.  More 
careful  thinkers  draw  a  clear  distinction 
between  an  infidel,  a  deist,  an  atheist,  a 
materialist,  and  a  modern  science-proud 
"  agnostic,"  or  confessed  "  know-nothing  " 
in  the  realm  of  the  greatest  certitudes.  Or- 
dinary unbelievers  or  non-believers  con- 
tent themselves  with  asserting  that  they  do 
not  believe  much  of  anything,  without  be- 
ing sure  in  their  own  minds  what  they  are 
talking  about,  or  thinking  about,  in  the 
larger  realm.  Each  sort  of  denier  or  of 
doubter  has  to  be  dealt  with  as  he  shows 

III 


How  to  Deal  witb  Doubts 

himself,  without  considering  him  as  one  of 
a  class. 

Once,  while  a  regimental  chaplain,  I  sat 
in  a  field  hospital,  talking  with  a  couple 
of  wounded  officers.  Sitting  on  the  edge 
of  the  next  cot  to  them  was  another 
wounded  officer,  talking  with  a  friend. 
As  his  back  was  turned  to  me,  he  did 
not  know  that  his  words  were  being  heard 
by  me.  Speaking  of  the  dangers  of  battle, 
he  said  confidently: 

"I  can't  die  but  once,  and  when  I  die 
that's  the  end  of  me.  All  this  talk  about  a 
life  after  death  is  sheer  nonsense.  There's 
nothing  of  me  but  what  you  see  here.  The 
idea  of  a  spirit  existence  is  absurd." 

The  two  young  officers  with  whom  I 
was  talking,  hearing  this  remark,  looked  at 
each  other  and  at  me,  as  if  wondering  what 
I  would  say.  I  simply  shook  my  head 
sadly,  and  said  as  if  I  meant  it: 

"The  captain  says  there's  no  more  to 
him  when  he  dies  than  there  is  to  a  used- 
up   mule  or  a  dead   hog.      He  ought   to 

112 


inot  JBeUeviUQ  in  Bn^  Spirttual  J^iistence 

know  himself  better  than  we  do.  I  don't 
know  where  we  could  begin  an  argument 
to  show  he  is  mistaken.  You  and  I  know 
that  there's  something  more  than  that  to 
us  ;  and  we  thank  God  that  there  is." 

The  argument  of  the  instinctive  self- 
consciousness  of  an  immortal  spirit  showed 
itself  in  the  recoil  of  those  officers  from  the 
thought  of  the  captain's  gross  materialism. 
They  fairly  shuddered  with  disgust.  One 
of  them  exclaimed : 

"  What  a  thought  that  is !  " 

The  other  responded : 

"  If  the  captain  should  hear  that,  I  think 
he'd  be  ashamed  that  he  ever  said  what  he 
did." 

And  the  way  was  thus  opened  for  an 
earnest  talk  between  myself  and  the  two 
officers  on  the  truth  which  their  own  inner 
consciousness  made  evident,  that  a  man's 
spirit,  as  apart  from  his  body  and  mind, 
distinguishes  him  from  the  brute  creation 
more  than  does  the  outer  form. 

A  man  who  was  exceptionally  intelli- 
"3 


Wow  to  Deal  wttb  5)oubt6 

gent  and  thoughtful,  a  university  graduate, 
said  honestly  that  he  could  find  no  evi- 
dence of  the  existence  of  God.  He  would 
be  glad  to  be  convinced  to  the  contrary, 
but  all  his  reading  and  searching  were  of 
no  avail.     He  was  asked : 

"  Are  not  the  evidences  of  God's  exist- 
ence to  be  seen  on  every  side  in  the  uni- 
verse ?  Is  not  our  very  confidence  in  the 
courses  of  nature,  in  the  changes  of  the 
seasons,  in  the  laws  of  growth  and  decay, 
and  in  all  that  we  have,  or  can  have,  or 
can  hope  for,  an  evidence  and  a  proof  that 
all  is  ordered  and  controlled  by  a  Supreme 
Intelligence  or  Almighty  God  ?  " 

"  Oh !  I  believe  that  we  are  affected  by, 
and  are  subject  to,  the  courses  and  the  laws 
of  nature.  No  intelligent  person  can  doubt 
that." 

"  How  can  you  have  any  confidence  that 
the  same  system  will  prevail  in  nature  year 
by  year  and  age  by  age,  unless  you  believe 
that  an  Intelligent  and  Omnipotent  God  is 
over  all  ?     John  Stuart  Mill,  who  began 

114 


Wot  Mclicvim  tn  Bug  Spiritual  Bii^tence 

his  studies  as  an  atheist,  admitted  that  the 
very  term  '  laws  of  nature '  presupposes  a 
God  over  nature.  There  can  be  no  law 
without  a  lawgiver.  Both  making  and 
enforcing  laws  require  knowledge  and 
power — or  Almighty  God." 

"  That  is  an  anthropomorphic  idea.  You 
seem  to  think  that  the  controlling  force  or 
forces  in  the  universe  must  be  a  person  or  an 
individual,  like  a  mammoth  man  which  you 
call  God,  but  which  I  speak  of  impersonally 
as  Nature.  That  is  the  difference  between  us." 

"  Then  you  do  not  see  any  signs  or  evi- 
dence of  a  Supreme  Person  or  God  in  the 
universe,  who  is  over  all,  and  who  has  an 
interest  in  all  existing  creatures  ?  You  see 
no  proof  of  this  ?  " 

"  I  do  not.  I  should  be  glad  if  I  could, 
but  I  do  not." 

"  Does  not  this  show  you  to  be  excep- 
tional ?  Are  you,  in  this,  exceptionally 
strong,  or  exceptionally  weak  ?  Is  it  be- 
cause you  are  above,  or  below,  others  in 
your  spiritual  perceptions  ?  " 

IIS 


IKow  to  2)eal  witb  2)oubt0 

"I  certainly  do  not  claim  that  it  is  a 
proof  of  my  superiority;  yet  I  do  not 
think  that  it  is,  in  itself,  an  evidence  of  my 
mental  lack.  I  know  that  some  of  the 
world's  superior  thinkers,  and  men  of  un- 
questioned ability  and  character,  have  been 
unable  to  perceive  proofs  of  the  existence 
of  a  God.  I  simply  confess  that  I  am  of 
this  number.  I  do  not  perceive  the  proofs 
of  the  existence  of  God,  while  I  would  be 
glad  to  be  thus  convinced." 

"As  something  to  aid  you  in  deciding 
whether  your  failure  to  perceive  evidences 
of  God  in  nature  and  above  nature  is  a  sign 
of  your  progress  or  of  your  backwardness, 
have  you  considered  whether  the  world, 
in  its  advances,  is  toward  fuller  faith  or 
freer  doubt  ?  " 

"  I  suppose  that  as  the  world  progresses 
men  are  less  likely  to  accept  without  good 
reason  many  of  the  beliefs  of  their  an- 
cestors as  to  the  unseen  and  unknown 
world  ?  In  view  of  that  truth,  I  suppose  it 
would  hardly  be  claimed  that  it  shows  a 

ii6 


Hot  JBelieving  (n  Bnig  Spiritual  Biistence 

lack  of  intelligence  to  wait  for  evidence  of 
the  existence  of  spiritual  beings  in  another 
sphere,  and  of  an  Almighty  God  above  all." 

"  Is  not  the  belief  in  a  spiritual  being,  or 
in  spiritual  beings,  which  are  above  and 
beyond  sight  and  sense,  as  general  in  our 
race  as  the  belief  in  those  things  that  are 
disclosed  to  us  by  our  senses?" 

"  I  would  hardly  admit  that.  While 
mankind  generally  inclines  to  the  idea  that 
there  are  spirits  unseen  to  be  placated  or 
invoked,  there  have  always  been  those 
among  the  more  intelligent  of  our  race  who 
would  not  admit  that  the  fancies  of  super- 
stition, or  the  proposal  to  solve  in  a  certain 
way  the  mysteries  of  the  unseen  and  un- 
known spheres,  were  to  be  accepted  as 
satisfactory." 

"  Similarly  there  have  always  been  indi- 
viduals who  were  lacking  in  more  or  less 
of  the  five  senses  which  we  deem  essential 
to  highest  efficiency  in  our  natural  life.  But 
even  though  one  Hke  Helen  Keller  gives 
proof  of  high  capabilities  while  deaf  and 

117 


Kow  to  Deal  witb  Doubts 

blind,  this  hardly  proves  that  those  persons 
are  mistaken  who  have  and  use  their  eyes 
and  ears, 

"  Look  at  the  record  of  our  race  in  the 
matter  of  recognizing  the  existence  and 
personality  of  an  Almighty  God.  There 
has  never  been  a  people  in  any  age,  or  in 
any  land,  so  advanced,  or  reaching  so  su- 
perior a  plane  in  intellect  and  learning,  as 
not  to  have  had  its  best  and  wisest  men 
such  believers.  Thus  with  Egypt  in  its 
glory,  with  Babylon  in  its  pride,  with 
Greece  in  its  palmiest  days;  with  Rome, 
and  Arabia,  and  India,  and  with  other 
of  the  mightier  peoples  of  earth.  So  it 
has  been  with  peoples  of  the  least  civiliza- 
tion and  culture.  No  people  has  been 
found  so  low,  or  so  lacking,  as  to  be  with- 
out a  prevailing  belief  in  God  or  gods. 
So  we  can  say  that  this  belief  is  as  wide- 
spread among  men  as  is  the  use  of  the 
five  senses." 

"But  has  not  non-belief,  or  doubt,  or 
agnosticism,  among  those   of  the  highest 

ii8 


Hot  XclicvinQ  in  Bnis  Spiritual  Biietence 

intelligence,  including  some  of  the  foremost 
thinkers  and  students  in  the  world,  in- 
creased, in  these  later  years,  with  the  prog- 
ress of  the  race  ?  " 

"  Such  superior  persons  as  you  speak  of 
who  are  doubters,  or  agnostics,  are  still  as 
exceptional  as  the  deaf  and  blind  Helen 
Kellers  of  our  day.  Over  against  them  are 
those  of  firm  belief  and  of  reverent  faith, 
the  equals  of,  if  not  superiors  to,  and  in 
numbers  far  exceeding,  the  doubters  and 
agnostics.  At  the  close  of  the  nineteenth 
century  a  larger  proportion  of  the  scholars 
and  thinkers  and  wise  men  of  the  world 
than  at  the  close  of  any  former  century  in 
history  were  firm  believers  in  Almighty  God, 
and  were  rejoicing  in  their  belief  These 
men,  who  now  include  eminent  scholars, 
great  thinkers,  foremost  scientists,  are  men 
influential  among  their  fellows.  Some  of 
these  were  for  years  agnostics,  but  have 
passed  through  to  a  higher  plane  and 
stage. 

"  For  myself,  I  can  testify  to  the  knowl- 
119 


How  to  2)eal  witb  Doubts 

edge  of,  and  to  the  loving  help  from,  God 
day  by  day  and  from  year  to  year,  for 
nearly  half  a  century.  And  in  this  I  am 
by  no  means  unique  or  exceptional ;  thou- 
sands upon  thousands  can  testify  similarly, 
and  their  numbers  are  increasing,  both 
actually  and  relatively,  with  the  progress 
of  knowledge  and  science  in  the  world. 
To  me  God  has  long  been  more  real  than 
ever  was  my  devoted  mother,  and  readier 
to  give  me  help  in  little  matters  and  in 
great.  No  pastor,  or  physician,  or  wise 
teacher,  has  been  so  sure  a  guide  in  any 
special  sphere  as  the  Almighty  God — my 
spiritual  Father  and  Great  Physician  and 
ever-present  Helper — has  ever  been  ready  to 
prove  himself  in  my  need  and  faith.  The 
truth  is  not  a  matter  of  spiritual  belief  It 
is  the  realest  and  most  practical  truth  of  my 
every-day  life." 

"  In  your  experience  and  conviction  you 
are  certainly  to  be  envied.  I  wish  I  had 
such  faith." 

"Why,  then,  do  you  not  have  it?     God 

1 20 


mot  :fi3eUevtnQ  in  Bnis  Sptritual  Bitstcnce 

is  ready  to  give  it  to  you,  if  you  will  ask 
it, — if  you  will  take  it." 

"But  I  lack  the  belief,  or  the  evidences 
that  give  belief,  that  such  an  experience  is 
possible  to  me." 

"  You  remember,  perhaps,  the  story  of 
the  atheist,  who,  turning  doubtfully  toward 
the  light,  dropped  on  his  knees,  and  cried 
out  in  prayer :  "  O  God,  if  there  be  a  God, 
save  my  soul,  if  I've  got  a  soul !  "  Such  a 
prayer  God  will  welcome  from  one  who 
comes  unable  to  pray  more  confidently,  but 
who  is  ready  to  receive  added  light  as  it  is 
given  to  him.  Are  you  willing  to  kneel 
with  me  now  in  prayer,  while  I  ask  help 
from  God  for  you  in  fresh  spiritual  knowl- 
edge ?  " 

"  I  am,  even  though  it  be  in  doubt." 

We  two  knelt  side  by  side.  With  my 
arm  about  my  friend,  I  talked  with  God  as 
one  who  knew  God  and  trusted  him  fully. 
I  spoke  of  my  companion  and  his  need, 
and  asked  help  for  him  as  God  saw  that 
need  and  could  relieve  it     Then  I  asked 

121 


IKow  to  Deal  witb  Doubts 

my  doubting  companion  to  speak  to  God 
for  himself,  and  tell  him  not  what  he  doubted 
about,  but  what  he  would  like  to  attain  to  or 
to  receive.  The  feeble  cry  of  the  doubter 
went  up  to  God ;  it  was  heard ;  it  was  heeded. 
And  that  was  the  beginning  of  a  new  day 
to  that  darkened  soul.  The  light  that  then 
faintly  dawned  shone  more  and  more  unto 
the  perfect,  or  complete,  day.  He  who  had 
before  had  doubts  as  to  the  very  existence 
of  God,  came  to  be  not  only  a  firm  beHever 
himself,  but  he  grew  to  have  power  in 
bringing  others  into  the  full  light  and  joy 
of  God's  service  and  favor.  God  is  ever 
ready  to  work  wonders  for  and  with  those 
who  come  to  him  in  need  and  desire. 


122 


XIV 

Unconsistencp  ot  Cbristtan 
Doubters 

A  strange  tendency  of  the  human  mind 
is  to  accept  readily  much  that  might  seem 
most  wonderful  and  contrary  to  all  reason, 
while  at  the  same  time  rejecting  as  un- 
worthy of  belief,  or  at  all  events  seriously 
doubting,  what  is  far  less  wonderful,  and 
what  is  not  at  variance  with  the  dictates 
of  the  soundest  reason.  This  unmistakable 
fact  is  recognized  in  the  telling  adage, 
"  Many  a  man  who  does  not  believe  in  a 
God  believes  in  ghosts." 

All  of  us  have  known  men  who  reject 
the  Bible  as  a  guide  of  life,  or  as  worthy 
of  consideration  as  the  most  remarkable 
book  in  the  world,  who  are  disturbed  for 
days  or  weeks  when  they  see  for  the  first 
time  in  the  month  the  new  moon  over 
their  left  shoulder,  and  who  seriously  hesi- 

123 


Bow  to  2)cal  witb  Doubts 

tate  to  begin  any  fresh  undertaking  on  Fri- 
day. It  is  a  well-authenticated  fact  that 
many  an  unbeliever  or  declared  opponent 
of  Christianity  is  positively  affected  in  his 
life  course  by  the  influence  of  signs  and 
omens,  and  lucky  and  unlucky  days  and 
seasons. 

We  generally  speak  of  "  superstition " 
and  "  religion  "  as  if  they  were  two  entirely 
different  forces,  affecting  entirely  different 
classes  of  persons;  but  it  might  be  difficult 
for  us  to  draw  the  line  between  the  two 
forces  even  as  the  line  exists  in  our  own 
minds.  It  would  be  still  more  difficult  for 
us  to  describe  just  the  sort  of  persons  who 
are  influenced  by  the  one  force,  and  not  by 
the  other.  This  truth,  or  the  inevitable 
confusion  with  reference  to  this  truth, 
should  be  borne  in  mind  in  dealing  with 
those  who  evidently  have  an  open  mind 
with  reference  to  the  Bible  and  Christian 
truth,  yet  who  seem  unable  to  accept  the 
Bible  record  of  some  prominent  Christian 
truth.     It  may,  in  their  case,  be  simply  a 

124 


Inconaistencs  of  Cbristian  Doubters 

result  of  a  peculiar  working  of  their  mind, 
and  another  indication  of  the  strange  ten- 
dency of  human  nature.  Such  persons 
deserve  considerate,  sympathetic  treat- 
ment, in  order  that  they  may  be  helped 
into  fuller  and  clearer  light.  They  do  not 
mean  to  be  unreasonable,  even  though 
they  are. 

A  young  Christian  worker  came  to  me, 
one  day,  with  a  confession  of  a  doubt,  be- 
cause he  thought  I  was  always  ready  to  give 
sympathetic  counsel  to  an  honest  doubter. 
The  young  worker  had  been  for  some  time 
prominent  in  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation work,  and  in  religious  effort  among 
university  students.  He  was  himself  a 
university  graduate,  and  was  considering 
the  Christian  ministry  for  his  life  work. 
He  had  the  reputation  and  the  appearance 
of  an  earnest  and  devoted  Christian  man. 
There  was  nothing  that  seemed  to  suggest 
the  caviler  or  the  doubter,  even  when  he 
confessed  his  doubt.  It  was  evident  that 
what  he  believed  he  believed  heartily,  and 

1 25 


IKow  to  2)eal  witb  2)oubts 

that  he  would  be  glad  to  believe  more. 
He  seemed  to  be  sorry  that  he  had  to  con- 
fess any  doubt. 

After  speaking  of  his  manner  of  life  and 
his  habits  of  thought,  as  if  he  would  have 
it  understood  that  he  was  not  inclined  to 
a  doubting  mood  with  reference  to  Bible 
truths,  he  said,  half  hesitatingly  : 

"  The  only  thing  that  troubles  me  in 
the  story  of  Jesus  is  the  narrative  of  his 
miraculous  birth." 

"  Do  you  think  there  was  anything  ex- 
ceptional in  the  life  and  work  and  words 
of  Jesus  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Gh !  I  think  he  was  in  all  things  ex- 
ceptional. I  don't  doubt  him.  I  trust 
myself  fully  to  his  guidance,  and  for  my 
salvation.  It  is  only  about  the  circum- 
stances of  his  birth  that  I  have  any  doubt." 

"  How  do  you  think  Jesus  compared 
with  the  people  of  his  generation  ?  " 

"  I  think  no  one  was  for  a  moment  to  be 
compared  with  him.  He  was  way  above 
all  men  of  his  day  and  generation." 

126 


tnconsiBtcnc^  ot  Cbri^tian  WoMbtcts 

"  How  do  you  think  it  was  as  to  the 
men  who  had  gone  before  him,  the  wisest 
and  the  best  and  the  greatest  of  them, — 
men  like  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah  and  Solo- 
mon and  David  and  Samuel  and  Joshua 
and  Caleb  and  Moses,  and  other  leaders 
of  thought  and  action  ?  " 

"  Oh  !  I  think  he  was  far  above  them  all. 
None  of  them  was  to  be  compared  with  him. 
I  have  no  doubt  on  that  point.  It  is,  as  I 
tell  you,  only  about  the  matter  of  his  miracu- 
lous birth  that  I  have  any  doubt." 

"  You  think,  then,  that  Jesus  came  into 
this  world  with  the  world  as  it  was,  and 
drew  a  new  line  of  being  and  character 
and  conduct  in  it,  setting  up  here  a  new 
standard  for  men,  even  the  best  and  wisest 
and  greatest  of  men,  to  imitate  and  to  strive 
to  live  up  to  from  that  time  forward  ?  Do 
you  believe  that  the  example  and  teachings 
of  Jesus,  his  work  and  his  words,  had  any 
influence  over  his  fellows  while  he  was  here 
in  this  world,  and  that  they  have  continued 
to  have  this  until  the  present  day  ?  " 

127 


Mow  to  Deal  wltb  Doubts 

"  Yes,  I  most  firmly  believe  that.  I  be- 
lieve there  was  never  anything  like  it.  He 
was  never  equaled  or  approached.  I  have 
no  doubts  on  these  points.  My  only  doubt, 
as  I  said  to  you,  is  about  the  story  of  his 
miraculous  birth." 

"  You  speak  of  the  influence  of  the  work 
and  words  of  Jesus,  not  to  say  anything 
about  the  incitement  and  the  new  motive 
and  the  help  furnished  in  his  death  and 
resurrection, — what  do  you  think  has  been 
the  result  in  the  lives  of  those  who,  since 
his  day,  have  sought  to  live  up  to  his  stan- 
dard? What  proportion  of  his  followers 
compare  favorably  with  his  example  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  think  that  any  one  of  them 
could  be  compared  with  him." 

"  Not  even  with  his  example  and  teach- 
ings and  influence  before  them,  and  with 
two  thousand  years  of  progress  and  moral 
growth  in  the  world's  history  ?  Not  a 
single  one  of  the  most  progressive  pupils 
has  come  up  to  the  standard  of  the  old- 
time  teacher  ?  " 

128 


UnconsiBtcnc^  ot  Cbcigtian  Doubters 

"  Not  one.  Oh !  I  tell  you,  I  count 
Jesus  all  by  himself.  No  one  was,  or  is, 
to  be  compared  with  him." 

"  Well  now,  my  friend,  just  look  at  the 
case  as  you  present  it  to  me.  You  say 
that  you  believe  that  two  thousand  years 
ago  there  appeared  in  this  world  one  who 
was  greatly  superior  to  his  fellows,  one 
who  was  far  above  the  wisest  and  the 
greatest  and  the  best  who  had  ever  lived 
on  earth ;  and  that  during  the  years  of  his 
life  he  was  such  a  teacher  and  example, 
and  had  such  an  influence  on  his  disciples 
and  his  generation,  that  the  world  feels  it  to 
this  day;  that  he  was  such  a  Being  that 
you  are  ready  to  trust  him  as  a  Saviour  for 
this  life  and  the  next ;  and  that,  even  with 
all  the  teachings  that  he  gave  for  men's 
guidance,  and  with  all  the  helps  that  the 
church  which  he  organized  has  set  at  work 
for  good  in  the  passing  centuries,  not  one 
of  his  followers  or  imitators  has  approached 
his  standard  of  spiritual  and  moral  excel- 
lence.    You  say  you  believe  all  this,  yet 

129 


How  to  Deal  witb  Boubts 

you  cannot  believe  the  Bible  record  that 
there  was  anything  peculiar  about  his  com- 
ing into  this  world  and  life.  You  prefer  to 
believe  that  he  was  born  just  like  every  other 
man  in  order  to  be  unlike  every  one  who 
ever  had  been,  or  who  then  was,  or  who 
ever  was  to  be. 

"  That  belief  of  yours,  my  friend,  is  a 
great  deal  more  difficult  than  my  belief  I 
am  glad  that  my  mind  isn't  subjected  to 
such  a  test  as  yours  is.  Believing  what 
you  and  I  beheve  as  to  the  utterly  unique 
life  and  character  of  Jesus,  and  of  his  place 
in  the  universe,  it  seems  to  me  most  reason- 
able to  suppose  that  there  was  something 
peculiar  in  the  coming  of  such  a  being  into 
this  world ;  and  it  would  seem  most  un- 
reasonable to  suppose  that  he  was  born 
into  this  world  just  like  an  ordinary  man. 
Don't  you  yourself  think  so  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  do,  when  I  look  at  it  in  that 
light,"  said  the  doubter. 

And  it  will  often  be  found,  with  many 
another  doubter  of  some  point  of  Christian 

130 


Inconststcncis  of  Cbrfetian  Doubters 

truth,  that  he  fully  accepts  and  firmly  be- 
lieves more  wonderful  things  than  that 
which  he  doubts ;  and  that  his  accepted 
beliefs  are  more  reasonable,  if  taken  with 
the  one  which  he  doubts,  than  without  it. 
Christianity  is  more  consistent  with  itself 
than  would  be  any  substitute  for  it  accord- 
ing to  our  fancies  or  preferences. 

Christianity  is  more  reasonable  than  are 
the  beliefs  of  those  who  deny  or  doubt  its 
claims.  This  is  true  as  to  the  more  promi- 
nent unbelievers  and  scoffers.  It  is  also 
likely  to  be  the  case  with  the  doubts  of 
honest  Christians  who  have  troubles  with 
particular  points  of  belief  They  are  almost 
sure  to  be  ready  to  accept  without  a  ques- 
tion truths  that  are  less  in  accordance  with 
reason  than  that  which  troubles  them.  In 
view  of  this  truth,  it  is  well  that  one  who 
would  help  honest  doubters  should  bring 
out  by  his  questions  this  phase  of  their  un- 
reasonableness. It  is  not  too  close  an  ad- 
herence to  reason,  but  a  lack  of  it,  that 
multiplies  doubters  in  the  world. 

131 


